Falling Feathers
by Dawnflightt
Summary: Allow me to explain; I have the power to become a cat. It's that simple, yet ever so complicated at the same time. It's mostly because, the thing is, living a double life isn't going to be as easy as they all say.
1. Prologue

**Trying a new kind of writing! This probably won't be updated as much as River's Shadow.. so expect a chapter every 1/2 weeks!**

My name's Shekye. Pronounced _Sheck-eye_? There you go. _Now_ you know how to say it.

I'm just a regular Aussie kid. And sorta popular in school. But I know I don't fit in with those people. *Mumbles under my breath* airhead Instragrammers.

I'm dark-haired, a reading addict, artist, animal lover, and I totally get invited to people's parties. Totally.

You see? Just a regular school girl.

Well, not unless you know what I can do when nobody's looking.

Ha, bet you wouldn't know. You're probably guessing I'm 'magic' or have the ability to do something supernatural.

And, you may be right.

You see, I can turn in a cat. Pretty amazing, huh? Nah. You're probably shocked out of your mind, right? Probably not. But it's still pretty cool in my opinion.

I don't know how it happened, mate, but all I did was take a walk in the native bush nearby and, bam, I somehow manipulated my mind and altered my DNA to have one of a cat's. Actually, that sounded way more cool in my head.

Let's just say I can become a cat whenever I want to.

Anyway. Back to the ' _Ohh I can magically become a cat with my mind_ ' stuff. I read the whole Warrior cats series. Even up to Hawkwing's Journey. I love the books.

And I looked in the mirror in my room a little bit after I found out I had magical shape-shifting powers (well, I can only become a cat) and I was a fluffy light cream tabby with pale greyish-blue eyes. And _verrryyyy_ shiny fur.

Like shiny as in I was wearing a million invisible flashlights. I may be exaggerating.

And you know the coolest thing about this?

There's four freaking Clans in the bushland I love exploring in.

Like, what is the chance of that happening? One in, like, a billion?

Well, I don't actually know if they are the four Clans. I knew that the books' Clans are located somewhere in England or something?

I think they were Clans? Well, I heard voices in the bush. Strange voices. And my weird cat nose could smell more cats. I think? But I heard the voices call each other Clan names. Like, Lilywhisker and Thrushpaw.

Uh.. so.. I feel like I should name myself something different when I'm in cat form. Like an awesome Warrior cats name. Not a loner name though. I want a warrior name!

So I went with the name Featherfall. I just like the name. And my tail looks like a feather. I'm serious.

Well, I guess I should be explaining some stuff. Mmkay?

I think I talk cat when I talk in my cat form. I don't know? Imagine a cat somehow talking in English to you. Haha.

I think I'll try it out later.

Anyway, nobody knows what I'm capable of. *wink* Though I'm thinking of revealing my 'power' to my two best friends. Uriah and Holly.

Uriah's kinda cute. Dark-haired, tanned skin, sorta short, that kind of guy. But we'll stay in the friendzone. Hopefully.

Holly's a perfectionist. Not the girly-girl 'OH MY GOD I FORGOT TO PUT AN EXTRA LAYER OF MAKEUP ON MY LIFE IS RUINED' but the smart-kid 'If I don't get an A on this I'll be very annoyed since I spent an all-nighter studying for it' kind of perfectionist.

Anyways. I might show my awesome as powers to my buddies if I really wanted to.

Well, I'm about to head into the bush to magically transform into a kitty. What will happen? I don't know.. but I will soon.

Okay, let's go. What will happen?.. I don't know. Let's go and see, shall we?

 **Oh my god. Don't know how this story's gonna go. This will not be as long as I plan River's Shadow to be, so maybe 10 or so chapters? Gotta wait and see.**

 **Qotc: Do you like Shekye/Featherfall's character? She's pretty much me. But different. *How does that work?***

 **Qotc 2: Should Shekye/Featherfall's pov be first or third person?**

 **Please review! It drives me to write more :)**


	2. Chapter 1

Hello!

I'm not-so-motivated to write right now. But I managed to squeeze out a (sadly short) chapter.

Warning: This story will contain use of the words 'God' and 'hell'. Sorry about that.

There will be irregular updates. Since I never seem to write these chapters on time.

 **Cloudjumper Kat: It will be indeed in 'Stralia, and cats will indeed have Aussie warrior names. So there will be a possible 'Magpie' or 'Eucalypt'/'Eucalyptus' in the story ;) I will be writing this in first person to add to the challenging aspects of this story.**

 **Snowcrystal Of Thunderclan: Thank you! And I will be doing first person on this story.**

 **Chapter 1**

I sighed as I sat impatiently at the bushland's border, my tabby paws dirty from the pacing I was doing before. Come on, I have to go in there sooner or later! I growled, a cat trait I had managed to pick up on.

I have been trying to get the nerves to step back into the bushland that stretched in front of me. I had only strayed in there once, and that didn't end well when I nearly got shredded by a runaway dog. And once I gets scarred for life, I do not want to go where it happened ever again. Ever.

 _Ready.. one, two.._ I took in a deep breath. _Three._ I stood up and placed one paw onto the leaf-littered ground. Trembling, I froze as I set paw in the bushland and didn't move any further.

"Oh, for God's sake.." I muttered. "You need to steel the hell up or you're going home." I said to myself. I wasn't keen on exploring the bush, but I _did not_ want to go home, either.

This time, I screwed my blue-grey cat eyes shut and launched myself into the trees. Opening my eyes again as I felt the soft ground floor below, I breathed in and out deeply.

"I'm finally in." I said. Then, I scanned the area for any traces of the dog I encountered a few days ago.

There was nothing to show there was a dog around recently, so I smiled weakly. Then, my regular attitude came from the ashes of my uncharacteristic hesitance.

"Let's do this!" I yelled into distance, grinning. I started to trot in a certain direction; left, right, or foward, I don't remember.

Tasting the air, the strange smell I smelt last week reached my nose. Cat.

"Yes!" I squeaked, building my steady walk into a dash. I sprinted among the trees as quietly as I could be, dodging gum trees and the occasional termite hill.

Then, even more scent reached my nose. Yes, more. It was prey!

Yeah, I've tried hunting before. And you know what happened? I failed like the idiot I am. Haha. Stepped on the classic twig and everything.

Quit your giggling. How about you try and catch and kill a living, breathing creature that can literally feel you _walk_ towards them?

I crouched and stepped towards the smell. The smell's actually real weird.. sweet but kinda gross? Ehhh.. if real cats can withstand eating raw mice, I can, too.

"Where is the little bugger," I muttered, twitching my tail. I sorta believe I'm saying this, but I think I like using my nose to smell stuff.

And then, I spotted the tiny creature. Scratch that, heard and then saw it. It was a bird, a young noisy miner, to be precise.

I lick my lips. Wait, do cats even have lips? Ehh.. anyway, I freaking hate noisy miners. Always hanging around my school and being as annoying as hell. I'd love to sink my teeth into those things' necks..

What am I saying? 'Love to sink my teeth'? Ugh.. I need to stop talking so catlike. Actually, I am technically a cat right now..

Who the hell cares! I'd love to wreck this dumb bird's day!

I kept quiet and stepped forwards, breathing slowly. And I have you know, I don't normally stay quiet. Unless I want to. Hah.

Then, I leapt at the pest. Hiyah! I trapped it smack-bang under one of my paws!

"Hell yes!" I yowled. The bird was struggling - well, obviously the thing would struggle. I would freaking struggle if a massive hand clamped on top of my back and yelled 'hell yes' my ear.

Okay. What the hell do I do now.

Bite it? Eugh. I guess I have to.

I opened my mouth, and put it over the bird's neck (the thing was screaming bloody Mary at that point). Then, I chomped down.

Blood filled my mouth, and I spat it out. Of course I spat it out, it's damn blood. I hate the taste of blood.

The bird never moved again, and I grinned. (There was probably blood on my teeth so it would be freaking creepy to see)

"I got it!" I crowed. I flicked my tail and gazed down at the miner, what was disturbingly still and had a ring of red around it's grey neck.

What do I do now? Eat it?

I probably have to eat prey sooner or later. And maybe miners taste like chicken?

I bit into the miner hesitantly and chewed.

Definitely not chicken.. I tried not to cringe at the blood I can also taste in my mouth.

I came to the conclusion I wasn't a big fan of miners after that. Well, I never was, anyway..

Then I only just realised that there was a lot of squawking happening above me. I looked up at the tree above me, and with guilt I saw two more miner birds above me. Two adult miners.

I think I just ate their baby.. oh man.

"Sorry?" I called out to them. The birds probably didn't understand me anyway.

I trot towards the tree, and the miners squawk back. I take another step, and they fly away.

Well, that killed my mood. Actually, no, eating the miner killed my mood.

I shrugged it off and gazed at the half-eaten bird. I cringed and I quickly dug a hole to bury the dead bird in.

I sighed, and walked out of the area. Blood still covered my mouth, and I winced at the taste. I hesitantly tried to lick the blood-stain away, and hopefully I got it off.

I tried to catch the cat scent again, and luckily, I found it.

Then, I found something. A barrier. Ivy-like plants weaving in between branches and moss growing in patches at the base.

I manoeuvred myself around the 'wall' to find a cat-sized hole in the barrier, with light shining through it.

Hmm, I _wonder_ if I should strut in like I'm a leader?

The answer is _hell no_. I'm not walking into a possible camp like I know the place.

Instead, I claw a small hole into the barrier and peek inside. What I saw amazed me.

Cats. Lots of cats.

Talking together. Eating together. Lazing around in the autumn heat.

This must be it. A camp.

A _Clan_ camp.

 **yay. Sort of cliffhanger.**

 **Anyways!**

 **I like this form of writing. It gives me peace.**

 **Please review if you like this story. Heh.**

 **Qotc: What will happen next? Will our Shekye/Featherfall go into the camp, or will she run for her life?**


	3. Chapter 2

You will not believe how fast I wrote this.. probably means it's gonna be bad. Whoops.

i can't believe how much reviews I got? 8 reviews for one chapter! That's insane for my standards!

 **Rainstorm Of ShadowClan: Poor bird :c (I'll still hate them)**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: We'll see in this chapter ;)**

 **OJ with a Hint of Lemon: Legit laughed when I first read your review. Thanks x')**

 **Unicorn brownies: Thank you!**

 **Echo in the Whispering Wind: So do I :)**

 **Cloudjumper Kat: I hope so, too ;) with the awesome accents and everything. I'm really enjoying writing in 1st person.**

Chapter 2

I stifled a gasp of excitement. It's a Clan camp. A _real_ Clan camp.

I press my ears against the hole so I could hear the commotion inside.

"Vixenpaw? Can you _please_ clean the elder's den when I ask you?"

"Yeah, yeah! Quit getting your fur in a tangle!"

" _Now_ , Vixenpaw!"

"Why can't _Amberpaw_ do it?"

"She's done _moons_ worth of cleaning! You, on the other paw.."

" _Come on_ , Tumblecinder!"

I nearly giggle. This is a Clan, indeed.

I gaze inside again to see quite a few cats. A white she-cat with pale red markings, two young ginger she-cats, a black-and-grey tom, and many more cats filled up the small camp.

Happiness raced through me again. There are Clans! And I could _join_ one!

"Do I smell something.. strange?" A deep voice growled from inside the camp.

I froze. Am _I_ what smells strange?

"Probably ThunderClan scent drifting over the border. It's pretty windy today." A higher, feminine voice replied.

I blinked. This isn't ThunderClan? Isn't ThunderClan based in a forest? Or here, in bushland?

Then I realised that it's incredibly shadowy and dark here, and lots of ivy covered the trees, making a blanket in the canopy.

This is ShadowClan. Oh. Uhh..

Awesome! ShadowClan would be an awesome Clan to join!

"No, it's not ThunderClan. It's.. rogue scent."

"You can go check it out, then." The feminine voice replied, obviously bothered.

I flattened my ears. A Clan cat is going to find me if I don't run at least a few miles away.

Bunching my muscles, I sprinted away from the Clan camp.

I could hear something behind me. Pursuing me. So I ran even faster.

Bad idea.

I quickly tripped on some trailing gum tree roots and I stumbled.

"Ow.." I groaned, unable to keep my mouth shut as I felt pain race through one of my paws. That was a bad idea, too.

After a few seconds of crying at the pain, something crashed into my back, and I screamed. "Get off m- oww!" I yelp as my paw was pressed painfully into the ground. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"No, what do _you_ think you're doing?"

I turned my head and flatten my ears. A grey-brown tom with dark paws was pressing me down onto my side, amber eyes betraying fury so intense I could barely hold his gaze.

"J..just p..passing by," I stammered, wincing as he pressed down harder.

" _Passing by_?" He echoed coldly. He put his muzzle to my face. "Does spying on my camp counts as _passing by?_ "

"N-no, sir." I whispered. The tom, most likely ShadowClan, put on a look of confusion.

"Sir?" He echoed again, his voice not as cold. I mentally slap myself, even though I'm in a possible life-death situation. Cats wouldn't normally know what 'sir' meant.

"Sorry, Clan kitty." I said, courage flowing through me. "You wouldn't be informed about what that means."

"I don't need smart-talk from a spying non-Clan cat," The tom spat, the cold look in his eyes returning.

My bravery quickly fizzled. "I'm s-sorry. I've never talked to a Clan cat before." I said earnestly.

The tom froze, most likely unsure about my apology, the judgemental furball. "I, uh.." He said, staring at me.

"What's your name?" He burst out, and I leaned back in surprise, cringing at my sore paw. "M-my paw.." I gasped, making him step off me.

I blinked. "My name is Shek-" I mentally slap myself again. "Featherfall." I said.

"Featherfall.." The cat mused, obviously thoughtful. "Sounds like a Clan name."

I blinked. "Yeah, well, it is, you-" I stifled a growl of annoyance at how easy it was for my tongue to get the better of me. "It isn't," I corrected myself.

The tom blinked back, obviously confused about the situation. "I'm Ashenfoot." He muttered.

"Well, uh, hi." I stammered. I wasn't sure if Ashenfoot would attack me again.

"About the.. 'spying' question," He growled. "Why were you hanging around our camp?"

I flinched, but I could feel my peppy attitude come back. "I didn't originate from this area," I lied boldly. "And I wanted to see if the Clans were real, just like the stories."

"They are." Ashenfoot hissed, his tail twitching. "I guess I should let you go, if it was an accident." He paused. "Stay out of Clan territory. They would shred a kittypet like you."

I stare at him defiantly. "I'm not a kittypet!" I said indignantly. "I'm a wild cat, and I won't suddenly live with humans and eat pet food."

"Human?" The grey-brown tom growled. "You call them twolegs." I hissed back.

"Oh." He replied. I lashed my tail. "Don't ever call me a kittypet again." I muttered.

"Well, okay, I, uh, I'll be going now." He stammered, turning around and gazing at me. But something in his eyes softened my sudden irritated feeling.

"Wait." I said, limping towards him.

"What do you want?"

"Can you meet me here again?" I burst, shocking myself into silence.

Ashenfoot stared at me with a shocked gaze. "I _what_?"

"Meet me. Here. Tomorrow at sunset." I spill the words out of my mouth before I think.

Ashenfoot hesitated. "Okay. Fine." He said simply. I stifle a squeak. I'm meeting a _Clan cat_ tomorrow! At sunset!

As he left, the excited, fizzling feeling left me. And I stared at the ground for a few minutes.

"What the _hell_ was I thinking what the _hell_ was I thinking what the _hell_ was I thinking." I repeated, my mind in a whirl. _I'm meeting up with a male Clan cat in secret._

"Nonononono." I fretted. "He wouldn't accept my attitude. He would judge me hella bad." I muttered.

Well, I'm probably screwed. I'm having my first date, and it's with a cat.

I get up wincing at my paw, and I walked towards a small, secluded area. And then, I think as hard as I could about becoming a human again.

And after a while, I finally felt myself changing. The feeling? Pain.

It freaking hurts to change from cat to human. You can feel your bones changing and stuff growing/disappearing. It's painful as hell.

I cringed at the feeling of my tail shrinking and slowly disappearing and my ears getting smaller and sitting at the sides of my head. I hate this part.

After a bit of suffering, I'm back as a human. On my knees and hands.

Don't fret; I still keep my clothes on.

Luckily, my hand (originally my paw) didn't hurt anymore. I stood up, and I slowly walk to where the bright light came from (the streets are incredibly bright, even when it's light)

It was getting darker, and I yawned. Living as a cat is pretty tiring.

I walked to my house, relaxed for the day, finally had dinner, and talked to my parents, and I changed into pyjamas and slumped onto my bed. "Geez," I muttered. "Maybe living as a cat won't be so fun."

I feel my eyes droop and I acknowledged my tiredness. I covered myself in my duvet and fell asleep, thinking of Ashenfoot and my findings of the day.

Well, I'm on one heck of a date with a cat I barely know tomorrow.

 **Well, our Featherfall/Shekye didn't go into the camp! And she meets Ashenfoot. Romance? Possibly. (I know the answer anyways)**

 **Qotc: Should I add a few paragraphs to the beginning/end of every chapter showing Shekye living as a human? (Like her at school and stuff) because I'd like to :,)**


	4. Chapter 3

Hellooo everybody!

The amount of reviews I got was even more insane. 10 reviews on one chapter. Thank you all 3

 ***this story seems to be more successful than my other main fanfic, even though I work harder on River's Shadows wow THANKS***

I will be doing school scenes at the front/back of the chapter! In these I'll sometimes give out my own opinion in the form of Shekye. (This time, I'll be giving my opinion on internet memes. You know, because I hate most of them.)

On to the amazing reviews!

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Thank you! And I might check it out ;)**

 **Silverstar345: Thank you so much!**

 **ItsMeLillia: Thanks for your characters! I wanted to do extra scenes too, so I'll be doing them from now on :)**

 **Icy: Thank you! I'll be toning down the 'hell's a lot, since I think I was using it too much. Though I'm still planning the plotline as I go, I hope you'll enjoy the little twists I like doing during the story :)**

 **Snowcrystal Of ThunderClan: I think she should keep her mouth shut about the Clans, but she always says it anyway on accident.**

 **Unicorn brownies: I'm looking forward to writing about her as a regular person!**

 **SpiritedSilver: Haha, yeah! I want her to meet some ShadowClan cats. I'm not counting the extra scenes as the chapter, so chapters will actually be longer with the added paragraphs.**

 **Flower: Ahh, thank you! I'll just say Shekye/Featherfall likes PE, since she's a fast runner, but she sucks at most sports. I do like the idea of human Ashenfoot ;) I like to think logically about the situations happening during the story, and I try to keep it realistic (though the Clans existing and a person who can change into a cat is NOT realistic). Thanks!**

 **Rainwillow of MoonClan: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it :) I don't think I'd need any more characters, but thanks for your suggestion :)**

 **Chapter 3**

"It's not important."

"Sure it isn't."

"Stop pestering me."

Holly grinned at me. "Why? I can tell you have something on your mind, and you won't tell me."

I groaned. "I don't force _you_ to share all your thoughts."

"Yeah, that's because she shares them anyway." Uriah rolled his eyes. "But you seem to be thinking about whatever you're thinking about _very_ deeply. Too deeply for a girl like you."

"Shut up.." I muttered, scratching my head with my hand.

"Shekye, come on." Holly said, staring into my eyes as if she was attempting to look into my soul to see what I was thinking about.

I was thinking about Ashenfoot all day. And now my best friends are teasing me because I've been thinking about something too much. That something is Ashenfoot.

"You never force _Uriah_ to tell you what's on his mind." I half-hissed.

"Would you want to _hear_ about what goes in his mind?" Holly asked, her eyes widened with fake disgust.

"Oi!" Uriah exclaimed, offended.

"True." I replied. "You wouldn't want to see all those stupid memes hidden in there."

"They're not stupid." Uriah defended.

"You never knew what Harambe was until his death was announced on TV." I deadpanned.

"So? He's our lord and saviour."

I did not want a best friend who was addicted to that overused trash. But I deal with it anyway. Sometimes.

I bit into what was left of my chicken sandwich, and relished the fact the chicken did not taste like that miner bird I tried yesterday.

"Uriah," Holly said. "Those 'memes' aren't the true ones. They aren't original, and they weren't able to change anything to make every parody unique."

"The good ones are things from 2009 to 2011." I mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

"And the only decent meme from last year was the select music video or movie that changes every time a certain word is said." I rolled my eyes. "At least they're _original_."

"Enough talking about that stuff," Holly smiled. "I'm hungry." She said as she lifted up a packet of mini Oreos.

"That stuff looks gross." Uriah said, looking slightly disgusted.

"It's better than nothing." I reasoned.

"Gluten-intolerant kid, here." Uriah pointed out.

"I ate everything but this packet, so this is what I have left." Holly grinned, picking up an Oreo and popping it into her mouth.

I started thinking about Ashenfoot and the Clans again. I'm not sure if I want to meet Ashenfoot now. Or go into the bush this afternoon.

But, alas, we agreed to meet anyway.

The school bell went off, and I covered my ears. Sitting near one of the bells while waiting to go home is not nice.

"School's done!" Uriah hollered, packing up his things.

"See you tomorrow, guys." I said as I got up. Picking up my bag and lunchbox, I waved to Uriah and Holly and walked home.

...

I flicked my tail and waited as my aches started to fade away. Turning into a cat is _hard_.

 _I get to meet Ashenfoot again,_ I thought as I stared at the sunset.

Sighing, I blinked and started making my way to ShadowClan territory. Actually, was I? I can't remember what direction I went in..

Oh, gosh, I pray to God I won't get lost.

 **Ashenfoot's POV**

Ashenfoot muttered under his breath, and clawed at the ground, something he would usually do when he was nervous.

"That cat had better be here." The tom growled as he thought of the fluffy cream tabby she-cat. Featherfall.

 _She acted so.. weird._ Ashenfoot twitched his tail. _I skipped this moon's Gathering to meet with her. If she doesn't come soon, I'm leaving._

Ashenfoot froze as he heard a gasping sound. Backing off into a low-lying bush, he crouched and gazed out.

A light-furred tabby she-cat stood there, panting. She sniffed around for a little bit, disappointment in her gaze. "Hell, I thought he would actually stay." She remarked.

 _She says strange words, too._ Ashenfoot noted. He slowly creeped out to face Featherfall.

"Oh, I thought you might still be here." Featherfall purred, smiling boldly.

"Well, we're here, now." Ashenfoot said.

Featherfall's tired and happy look slowly phased to an anxious one. "W-well, would you like to do anything?"

Ashenfoot blinked and gazed at the ground. "Uh.. do you have any games to play?"

Featherfall brightened. "What about tag?"

The grey-brown tom flicked an ear. "Tag?" He echoed.

"Where someone is 'it' and you have to try and make others 'it' by touching them?" Featherfall prompted. Ashenfoot shook his head. "I've never heard of that."

Featherfall looked shocked. "You never played tag? What of games did you play as a kit?"

Ashenfoot narrowed his eyes. "I didn't play much. I had nobody to play with." He growled.

"Ohh." The cream tabby said, unfazed. "Well, you're it!" She tapped a paw onto Ashenfoot's shoulder. "Try and chase me!" She purred. "Once you touch me you'll have to run away!"

Awkwardness spread through him. He's playing a 'game' with a strange she-cat he barely knows.

Shrugging it off, he narrowed his amber eyes again and dashed after the she-cat. Tearing after the fluffy tail, he tried to swat at it, but that ended up with him tumbling on the ground and Featherfall laughing at him.

"It's not my fault you play hard games." He growled at the chuckling cream tabby.

"It's not hard." Featherfall purred. "You can't catch me, that's all." She swept her tail in front of the tom, and he instinctively struck out. Landing a paw on the tail, Featherfall squeaked.

"You got me." She purred. "Now, I have to catch you!"

Ashenfoot felt a flash of panic as the she-cat bunched her muscles to spring at him. Scrambling up, he managed to skid away.

Dashing through bushes and doubling back through the trees, Ashenfoot started to slow down. Featherfall, on the other paw, was still chasing him.

Then, a weight crashed onto his back, and he tumbled over. Featherfall stood there, grinning. "Got ya." She smiled. "You're it."

Growling, Ashenfoot tried to get up, but flopped to the ground again. "I'm too tired." He said pathetically. Featherfall hesitated, but she sat down beside him.

"That was fun." She mewed. "We should play that game again some day."

Ashenfoot quickly shook his head. "Not always." When Featherfall looked a slight bit hurt, he quickly shook his head. "Well, not every time. It's too tiring."

Featherfall put on a smug look. "Are you saying we could play games _another time?_ "

The grey-brown tom felt dumbfounded. "Well, er, maybe.."

"Well, I'm free most of the time." Featherfall smiled. "I'm okay with meeting up again."

Ashenfoot hesitated. "I, urr.." Did he _really_ want to meet this weird she-cat again?

"Don't you want to?" Featherfall pouted. "Is it because it's sorta against the warrior code?"

The grey-brown tom stiffened. "What would you know about the warrior code?"

"Most of i- I mean, nothing! Nothing!" Featherfall stammered, smiling fearfully. Ashenfoot growled, but he sighed.

"Do you ever feel bored of life whenever there's nothing exciting happening?"

"What?"

"Do you?"

"Well, uh.." Featherfall trailed off. "Life used to be boring. But now, I can say it's not boring at all now."

Ashenfoot blinked. "Its surprisingly peaceful on the borders right now.." He growled. Then, he shook his head. "Oh, sorry. You probably don't know how a Clan works."

Featherfall gave him a strange glare. "I do." She said firmly. "You can talk about it all you want and I'll understand it."

Ashenfoot narrowed his eyes. "How would you know about Clan customs?"

"I just do." Featherfall growled. Ashenfoot paused.

"Well, I heard the dog that had invaded RiverClan territory had been chased off by those nice WindClan and ThunderClan warriors." Ashenfoot said slyly.

Featherfall didn't fall for it. "First off, that's invading another Clan's territory, and second, why would it be both WindClan and ThunderClan helping RiverClan?"

Ashenfoot was shocked. This cat must know quite a lot about the Clans to know information like that. "How would you know?"

Featherfall glared at him. "As I said, I just do."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to get reasons on why Featherfall knew about Clan customs, he sighed. "I think it's best I go."

Featherfall blinked her pale blue-grey eyes. "Oh, okay." She said. She got up, and waved her tail in farewell. "Goodbye, Ashenfoot."

Ashenfoot felt himself waving back. "I-I'll meet you next time."

As the she-cat headed towards the twoleg-infested side of the forest, Ashenfoot sighed.

 _Is she really worth meeting again?_

Yawning, Ashenfoot stood up and slunk away. "What would Driftpool say about this if she found out?" He purred to himself as he made his way back to camp.

 **Shekye/Featherfall's POV**

I sighed in content. The cat 'date' went okay. It was awkward, but okay.

I gazed out at the sky, the sunset only just fading away. I smiled.

Maybe we _could_ have something.

* * *

 **Allegiances**

 **ShadowClan**

 **Leader:**

Ivystar - _Grey she-cat with dark green eyes._

 **Deputy:**

Reedfrost - _Pale gold she-cat with ice-blue eyes._ (Rainstorm Of ShadowClan)

 **Medicine cat/s:**

Willowfall - _White she-cat with sand-coloured stripes, black ear and tail tips, two black paws, and very light blue, nearly silver, eyes._ ('Anon')

Stormpaw - _Dark silver tabby with stormy blue eyes._ ('Flower')

 **Warriors:**

Quietleaf - _Small silver tabby she-cat with green eyes and a black paw._ (Rainstorm of ShadowClan)

Lilyfrost - _Glossy-furred she-cat with light green-blue eyes, plumy tail, and pale-red ears, paws, tail tip, and pale-red patches on her back._ ('Scarlet')

Strikeheart - _Silver-and-black she-cat with green eyes._ (Silverstar345)

Apprentice: Amberpaw

Nightshadow - _Black tom with grey stripes and blue eyes._ (Silverstar345)

Tumblecinder - _Black she-cat with white dapples and pale yellow eyes._ ('Pashhash')

Apprentice: Vixenpaw

Forestash - _Fluffy brown tabby she-cat with white paws, chest, underbelly, and green eyes._ ('Fat Cat Fevah')

Fjordrunner - _White tom with ice-blue eyes._ ('Fat Cat Fevah')

Ashenfoot - _Pale grey-brown tom with dark brown paws and amber eyes._

Driftpool - _Grey she-cat with a shaded dark grey back and blue eyes._

Ashfeather - _Dusty-grey tom with amber eyes._ ('Ashy')

 **Apprentices:**

Amberpaw - _Red-furred she-cat with a thick tail and amber eyes._ (1-Red-1)

Vixenpaw - _Fox-coloured she-cat with green eyes._ ('Jerome')

 **Queens:**

Dreamshade - _Grey she-cat with amber eyes._ (Blood-red Wolf evil heart)

Cleardawn - _Fluffy white she-cat with a cream stripe going from head to tail, cream paws, and clear green eyes._ (ItsMeLillia)

Whiteshadow - _White she-cat with black ears, tail, and green eyes._ ('Icy')

 **Elders:**

Maplefur - _Old brown tom with green eyes._ ('Guest')

Leaftail - _Dark brown she-cat with lighter spots and faded green eyes._ ('Flower')

Deerspots - _Dark brown she-cat with lighter spots and faded green eyes._ (ItsMeLillia)

Snowice - _Old white she-cat with blue eyes._ (Blood-red Wolf evil heart)

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:**

Thimblestar - _Pale red tom with black spots and blue eyes._

 **Deputy:**

Blueflame - _Blue-grey tom with fiery gold eyes._ ('Pashhash')

 **Medicine cat/s:**

Leafdapple - _Pale brown she-cat with orange, black, and white leaf-shaped spots and hazel eyes._ (ItsMeLillia)

Meadowpaw - _White she-cat with dark-brown patches on her back and piercing green eyes._ (ItsMeLillia)

 **Warriors:**

Maplefur - _Long-legged ginger tom with deep blue eyes._ ('Stonestar')

Lynxflame - _Long-legged lynx-point tom with blue-grey eyes and large white-toed paws._ (AxelKatt)

Downyflame - _Small cream she-cat with brown eyes._ (Unicorn brownies)

Duskshine - _Golden tom with bright green eyes, grey paws, and white tail-tip._ (Redtail1192)

Stormfire - _Dark-grey tom with fiery golden-yellow eyes and black-shaded paws, ears, tail, face, and chest._ (Tawnypelt27)

Fawnheart - _Long-furred pale brown she-cat with green eyes and tufted ears._ ('Pikawarriorcat')

Panthersky - _Black she-cat with yellow eyes and a white paw._ (TheCrystallineWarrior)

Apprentice: Nightpaw

Cloudheart - _White tom with green eyes and a black paw._ (TheCrystallineWarrior)

Paleshadow - _Creamy orange tom with amber eyes._ ('ThunderSplash')

Beetlefoot - _Black and brown tom with green eyes._ (Animal4Life)

Snowcloud - _White she-cat with blue eyes._ (Animal4Life)

Milkwing - _Cream she-cat with silver eyes._

Sunset - _Scarred golden tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes._

 **Apprentices:**

Nightpaw - _Glossy, smooth-furred black she-cat with white specks and amber eyes speckled with gold._ (ItsMeLillia)

Flowerpaw - _Pale golden tabby she-cat with green eyes._ ('Flower')

 **Queens:**

Tangledfur - _Grey she-cat with tangled fur and a black chest, ear tips, and blue-green eyes._ (Tawnypelt27)

Spottedberry - _Black she-cat with a white underbelly, ginger spots, and silver eyes._ (ItsMeLillia)

Bluefire - _Silvery-blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes._ (Animal4Life)

 **Elders:**

Swiftclaw - _Pale ginger tabby tom with darker splotches, green eyes, and a greying muzzle._ ('Flower')

Sandspots - _Tan tom with white dapples and brown eyes._ ('my name is name')

* * *

 **WindClan**

 **Leader:**

Thistlestar - _Black tom with brown paws and amber eyes._

 **Deputy:**

Sparkheart - _Long-legged, small-pawed black she-cat with amber eyes and a white underbelly, muzzle, paws and a long tail with a white tail-tip._ (Redtail1192)

Apprentice: Hollowpaw

 **Medicine cat/s:**

Harewhisker - _Chocolate tuxedo tom with green eyes._ ('Guest')

Darkwhisker - _Brown tabby tom with yellow eyes and dark, very long whiskers._ ('Sana')

 **Warriors:**

Fuzzycloud - _Black tom with fur that sticks out in all directions and piercing amber eyes._ ('Jerome')

Ambertail - _Pale ginger tabby tom with a sleek tail and amber eyes._ (AxelKatt)

Apprentice: Kestrelpaw

Hazelpelt - _Light grey tom with brown patches and blue eyes._ ('Guest')

Nightsky - _Black she-cat with dark blue eyes._ (SilverMidnightMoon)

Apprentice: Scarpaw

Ryestalk - _Tan tom with amber eyes._ ('Icy')

Tansyleaf - _Light brown she-cat with green eyes._ ('Icy')

Molefur - _Brown tabby tom with hazel eyes._ ('Sana')

Shadefern - _Dark grey tom with light blue eyes._ ('Flower')

 **Apprentices:**

Hollowpaw - _Black tom with a bushy tail and yellow eyes._ ('greys cat')

Scarpaw - _Black tom with blue eyes and scars lacing body._ ('person')

Kestrelpaw - _Dark brown she-cat with white ears, tail-tip, and amber eyes._ ('Briarfeather')

 **Queens:**

Chestnutheart - _Long-legged dark brown she-cat with darker ears and amber eyes._ ('Guest')

Softmallow - _Cream she-cat with a fluffy chest and blue eyes._ (Etherose)

 **Elders:**

Paleflower - _Cream she-cat with pale brown stripes._ (Etherose)

Kestrelstreak - _Wiry light-brown she-cat with darker streaks and scars on one of her amber eyes._ ('SpiritedSilver')

* * *

 **RiverClan**

 **Leader:**

Breamstar - _Glossy silver-dappled she-cat with strange greenish-brown eyes._

Apprentice: Bubblepaw

 **Deputy:**

Rippleheart - _Grey tabby tom with pale blue eyes._ (Softballmania24)

 **Medicine cat/s:**

Featherpool - _Long-furred silver-grey she-cat with placid blue eyes and a white paw, tail-tip, and a cream underbelly._ ('SpiritedSilver')

Mistyclaw - _Black she-cat with silver flecks and green eyes._ ('greys cat')

 **Warriors:**

Sedgefrost - _Light cream she-cat with white paws, chest, underbelly, tail-tip, and ice-blue eyes._ (ThunderSplash)

Apprentice: Pebblepaw

Silvertail - _Long-furred silver-grey she-cat with placid blue eyes and two whites paws, tail-tip, a white ear, and cream underbelly._ ('SpiritedSilver')

Redsplash - _Red-brown tom with green eyes._ ('Icy')

Apprentice: Rosepaw

Pearltail - _Sleek-furred cream she-cat with blue eyes._ ('Flower')

 **Apprentices:**

Pebblepaw - _Grey tom with brown eyes._

Bubblepaw - _Glossy-furred grey she-cat with white-tipped fur and bright amber eyes._

Rosepaw - _Dark cream she-cat with lighter patches and amber eyes._ ('Flower')

 **Queens:**

Larkwing - _Brown tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes._ (Softballmania24)

Simmerstream - _Silvery-black she-cat with clear blue eyes._ ('Icy')

Briarfeather - _Dusty brown tabby she-cat with a white underbelly and pale green eyes._ ('Briarfeather')

Smokeflame - _Silver-and-orange patched tabby she-cat with blue eyes._ ('Silvv')

 **Elders:**

Troutfur - _Old grey she-cat with black stripes and brown eyes._ ('Guest')

Pebblesplash - _Grey tom with splashes of black-brown, a white patch over one eye, scar on belly, and hazel eyes._ ('SpiritedSilver')

Brightsand - _Pale ginger she-cat with blue eyes._ (Etherose)

* * *

 **Non-Clan Cats:**

Wave - _Long-legged blue-grey tom with yellow eyes._ ('Waveyy')

* * *

 **Hmm, I wonder what the allegiances mean? ;)**

 **The names beside each cat are the awesome people who submitted their cats to make up the allegiances! Thanks for all of them!**

 **Qotc: What will Featherfall do next? Simply meet up with Ashenfoot again, or do something else..? ;)**

 **Totally interesting fact: I had planned Ashenfoot to be a significant character since the very beginning. But, he was unnamed and was planned to be a solid brown tom with blue eyes.**


	5. Chapter 4

Hey, everyone.

I'm REALLY sorry about the long wait. Around a week after posting the last chapter, I got extremely sick (I'm fine now, I binge watched hours worth Pikmin playthroughs each day) and I lost motivation to write. Luckily, my motivation has returned, and here's a new chapter. I will try uploading a new chapter next week.

 **Flower: Thank you for your thoughts on my story. I've noticed I had sounded quite greedy when I stated I wasn't getting as much reviews as I am getting for Feathers Falling. The narration starts a few days after Featherfall/Shekye discovers her 'power' and every event will be in order unless there is time-jumps. I'm still planning how the main character will deal with living with two separate lives, but I guess I'm doing okay.**

 **ItsMeLillia: I like your guesses! And I probably sounded a bit rude.. I guess a lot of people wouldn't know I had another story up :,)**

 **IcyBearpaw: Thank you for your review and guesses! I'm looking forward to describing the main character's friends' personalities even more.**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Possibly ;)**

 **Silverstar345: I'm trying my best to write as fast as possible!**

 **Snowcrystal of ThunderClan: Thank you for your suggestion, but I don't think I need any characters for Featherfall's kits (even if she gets together with Ashenfoot) but I like it!**

 **Featherfrost of Stormclan: Possibly. But it can't be a major character.**

 **OJ with a Hint of Lemon: me thank you!**

 **Chapter 4**

I smiled as I slowly walked home, taking in the scenery of the bushland foliage waving in the cool breeze.

I love these walks home; in the afternoon, the sunset bathes everything in a warm golden orange glow and slowly fading to a scarlet red.. I adore it.

Today was Friday, and I finally get to spend the weekend watching YouTube or something. Yay?

"I'm home!" I called out when I reached the door. Stepping inside my home, I sorta felt chills creep up my spine at my parents' conversation.

"You can't!" My mum gasped.

I blinked at the desperateness in my mum's voice. Something's going on.

"I'm sorry. I need to. Otherwise we won't earn enough money." My dad sighed back.

"Please! What about Shekye? She won't be able to get more proper school supplies, and we may not be able to provide for her uniform!"

"She can deal with it. I know it." My dad replied.

"She's still our girl! I can't deal with the amount of work I'll have to do to earn money- and my work is already tiring as it is-"

"Mum? Dad?" I called hesitantly, unsure if they'd been aware of my presence.

They looked at me in surprise and sadness. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Shekky." My mum said, looking at my dad sadly. "Dad has had some bad news.. he's moving to Sydney."

My mouth opened in a wide 'o' shape. "What?"

"I have been given a promotion, but where I am working now was relocated in Sydney. Either I have to quit or move. And we need the money." My dad says.

"Moving without us?"

"It costs too much for a suitable house there." My mum said.

I visibly slumped. My dad is pretty much leaving me and my mum for the sake of work. Actually, that is what he is doing.

I faltered. "Well, I-I'm just going to do my afternoon training." I said. The training I am referencing to is netball training. Since I have a team at school I play in. But, I'm actually lying when I say I'm doing training. I don't actually train. I become a cat, and explore.

"Alrighty." My mum said, looking defeated. "Be careful." She kissed me on the head and started to look at my dad again.

I gave my parents hugs, and I trudged down the street towards the bushland.

...

I'm in a bad mood now.

Why wouldn't I? My dad is freaking moving to another state without us, so my mum has to work harder to earn money to provide for me and herself. Luckily, I'm in a public school, so my parents don't need to pay the school to get me educated, but we still pay for our supplies.

I started running until I got into a fast-paced dash. It marvelled me how I don't trip, as twigs and branches litter the ground.

"Featherfall?"

I flattened my ears at the voice. That's my cat name, and it sounds like..

"Ashenfoot?" I whispered back.

On queue, the grey-brown tom steps out of a series of prickly bushes. "I'm glad it's you and not some invader." He growled, staring at the scratches on his paws from his hiding place.

I blinked, faintly smiling. "Glad? And, also, your Clan would consider me as an invader."

Ashenfoot gazed at his dark-brown paws. "I guess."

But I smiled a little more. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" He replies, looking a little suspicious.

"Take me to your Clan. I'd like to.. join it part-time."

"You _what?!_ "

"Join your Clan part-time. Like, since I have to-" I attempted to think of a quick lie. "Take care of my parents until the sun starts to set."

"Well, we do need more warriors.." Ashenfoot growled, scanning his amber eyes over me.

"I'll have to leave once stars shine in the night sky." I said.

"You know what? Fine." Ashenfoot flicked his tail. "We need more warriors to build a stronger Clan, and you seem to be the kind of cat ShadowClan ne-" He broke off. "I mean, you could have potential to be a warrior."

I blinked in excitement and success. "Lead the way." I purred.

...

I arrived at ShadowClan camp once again. I await cautiously outside, while Ashenfoot ducks in for a second.

He appears again, and he beckons me to come inside. My heart beats faster.

I started to advance inside. Strange whispers met my sensitive cat ears, and I flicked my ears.

"Ashenfoot, who have you brought to our camp?" A feminine, low voice mewed.

Ashenfoot dipped his head, and I turn to the voice. A grey she-cat, with eyes the similar shade of ivy that surrounds the camp, stands underneath a ledge, half-engulfed in shadows.

"Ivystar." Ashenfoot dipped his head. I flattened my ears again. The _leader?!_ "This.. stranger, wants to give you an offer."

I blinked fearfully at the she-cat, Ivystar, who had an aura of strength, and met her gaze.

"My name is Featherfall." I said, dipping my head just like Ashenfoot had. "I-I would like to join your Clan."

Lots of whispers met my ears again, however muffled they sounded as my ears were flat.

Ivystar's gaze was shielded. "I may get that sorted." She mewed. "I will talk with my deputy about this." She gazed at a pale golden she-cat, who nodded back.

"We may welcome you into ShadowClan, on one condition. After a few moons of work and proving your loyalty, you may join as a full member of the Clan." Ivystar growled.

I widened my eyes. It was that easy? "T-thank you." I stammered.

"Fjordrunner. Though you are young, I hope you will pass your redeeming qualities onto.." Ivystar paused, and gazed at me in question. I blinked. Is she letting me choose my own name as a warrior?

"Featherfall." I mewed.

"Onto Featherfall." Ivystar repeated.

There were no calls of my name, and I didn't expect any, anyway. I'm a stranger to these cats.

Wait, what was my 'new' mentor's name again? Fiordsomething?

"So, you're my first.. apprentice?"

I looked at the talker. A white tom with icy blue eyes. "Are you.. Fi-"

"Fjordrunner." He muttered. Before I could say anything else, he growled. "Don't laugh. I was not born in this Clan, and I kept my old name, Fjord."

I admit. I was going to poke fun at the name. "Ohh. Okay." I said. I probably didn't want to mess with this cat who was my 'mentor'. Luckily, the tom stalked away before I could say something.

"Featherfall!" Ashenfoot called. He trotted over to me, a grey she-cat with a darker shaded back and blue eyes beside him.

"This is my friend, Driftpool." Ashenfoot mewed, flicking the she-cat on the shoulder with his tail.

"Hi." Driftpool growled. I put on a mildly incredulous look. She doesn't seem like the kind of cat you would want to be friends with.

"Hey." I replied. I flicked my plumy tail and sighed. "I'm.. going to talk with Ivystar."

"Why?" Ashenfoot iquired.

"Because I can't stay for long." I said.

"Ah, okay." Ashenfoot mewed, obviously disappointed. "Would you like a tour of the Clan?"

Hell, and I thought I would be able to console with Ivystar and go home.

"Sure." I said, though I betted the Clan cats would treat me like dirt.

"Alrighty." Driftpool drawled. "This is the leader's den," She growled as she pointed at a hole swallowed by darkness underneath the ledge.

"You would know that Ivystar is the leader around here." Ashenfoot mewed. "She has nine lives, and is one of two cats that can assign cats on patrols. Ivystar also leads the ceremonies, like-"

"Apprenticeships, warrior names, deputyship." I cut him off. Quickly realising my mistake, I cursed my wandering tongue.

"How would you know that?" Driftpool growled, obviously irritated. "I.." I broke off. "My father would tell me about the Clans. He dislikes them, but he still knows a lot about them."

"Now, on to the rest of the Clan." Driftpool muttered.

"This here is the warriors' den." Ashenfoot mewed, pointing his tail at a massive hollow log that appeared to be half-buried under the ground. "I bet you'd know what warriors are."

I smirked and nodded. I do know quite a lot about Clans.

"Apprentices' den," Driftpool gazed at an ivy-draped dip in the ground.

"The Clan put the ivy there in certain areas so it would grow over the top of the dip." Ashenfoot said, pride in his amber eyes.

"Ah," I said. "So it would make sort of a canopy over the ditch?"

The two Clan cats put on a look of confusion. "Canopy?" Driftpool echoed.

"I-uhh.." I mewed. "It's the top part of a forest," I said. "Sometimes forms a layer of leaves at the top of the trees."

"Ah." Ashenfoot mewed. I resisted myself from growling impatiently. I need to talk with ShadowClan's leader..

"This is the elders' den and nursery." Ashenfoot stopped at a wall that had a roof made of a small eucalyptus tree. I note at how eco-smart the cats are. Is eco-smart a word? Anyways. Using ivy to make a roof for a ditch, and using tree branches for another roof. I'd say that's smart.

I curiously poke my head inside the nursery. Not the elders' den. I know that in the books elders can be grumpy as hell.

Two white she-cats and a grey one lay in what I thought were nests, all resting or now staring at me weirdly.

"Who are you?" A fluffy white she-cat with a cream stripe stared at me with pretty, clear green eyes.

"Featherfall." I said boldly, dipping my head. "I have joined the Clan, but I'm not a full member yet for a few more moons."

The she-cat looked wary. "You'd better stay away from the kits." She growled. I blinked and dipped my head. "However much I'd like to see kits for once, I'll respect your privacy." I said earnestly. Bet you didn't know I could use 'smart words'. Ha-ha.

"It would be best to leave the queens alone for a while." Ashenfoot muttered. "Cleardawn's a little snappy and protective now she's a queen."

Cleardawn was the she-cat's name? Okay.

I leave Ashenfoot and Driftpool to chat with Ivystar.

"Have you been introduced the basics of a Clan?" Ivysar inquired.

"Yes, I have, thank you. I am very thankful that you have given me a chance," I said. "But there's one thing that may intervene while trying to connect with the Clan."

Ivystar said nothing, looking thoughtful. "What is it?" She finally mewed, a veiled amount of curiosity in her voice.

"Well.." I said. "I cannot be a full-fledged warrior unless I stay permanently, correct?"

"Possibly." The ShadowClan leader said thoughtfully, starting to understand what I'm talking about.

"I cannot stay in the Clan full-time." I mewed. "I have my mother and father to take care of, and they strongly dislike the Clans. Me, however, want to give one a chance."

"Ah. And they wouldn't want to know you became apart of one?" Ivystar meowed.

"Yes." I mewed politely, dipping my head. "It's perfectly fine if you don't want me to stay with the Clan now-"

"No, no." Ivystar mewed, her tone understanding. "I may be able to let you stay. Though, do you think there will be a time when you'll be able to stay for a few days at most?"

"Sadly, no." I replied. Then I gazed outside, and could see the sun had set.

"Oh," I said. "It's time for me to look after my parents."

"That's fine." Ivystar said, getting up and flicking her tail. "I'll try and come back tomorrow at around sunset." I mewed.

I waved goodbye to the ShadowClan leader and started to head home. That conversation went hella good.

Smiling, I breathe in the crisp afternoon air. Maybe my dad leaving won't be so bad, after all..

 **phew.**

 **That was hard to write.**

 **Anyways, sorry for the wait.**

 **\- if anyone gets offended while I mention their character in the story, sorry ;-; -**

 **Review if you want :,)**


	6. Chapter 5

hi

I was gonna say sorry for giving a new chapter late but I realised I said I'd be updating every 1 or 2 weeks :))

my old iPad 4 broke and it cracked on one side of the border and there was a h OLE in the white border thing and it was messing up all my typing luckily I got a new iPad two days ago but I backed up everything onto the new iPad but I lost some of my app data (including the app I use to write) so i rewrote this whole chapter which is why it's sorta late

Note: I am not writing in past-tense anymore! I find it easier to write this way :)

I just realised this chapter is sorta long but, however, I disagree

Awesome reviews-

 **SilverMidnightMoon: i don't knOWAA**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Okay, thank you :)**

 **Icy: I'd bet her mum would smack her senseless because she had been lying every time she would leave home haha or freak out because her daughter is 'magic' :,)**

 **Waterpool: Thank you! I'm hoping she'd stay with Ashenfoot or something.. a few people are guessing the ship haha**

 **ItsMeLillia: I'm glad :)**

 **riverflowertheimmortalwolf: Thank you so much!**

 **Chapter 5**

"Now, sweet-faces, you're going to have to repeat after me."

I groan as my math teacher calls my class 'sweet-faces'. This teacher, Mrs Bales, is one of those teachers that seems to love us and call us weird nicknames and expects us not to get weirded out.

Like, that one time Mrs Bales called our class a 'fish bowl' and we were the fish, because we were inclosed inside a classroom referred to as a fish bowl. Like, seriously.

"You write _down_ the base.." My teacher chants, the class following along jokingly. I don't follow along. Instead, I cringe at the way Mrs Bales says 'down'. She emphasises it while yelling and it seriously scares me.

Holly sort of follows along, too. But only repeats the words quietly and doesn't do the stupid arm gestures. Uriah isn't in this math class.

"Why does she creep the hell out of me when she yells?" I mutter.

"I know, right?" Holly agrees. "She seems so quiet and humble until she makes us call the words."

I shiver. This math room is the reincarnation of Antarctica, how cold the air-con is..

' _Hey wat yu doing?_ ' I get a message from Uriah on my school iPad since I'm too cheap to get a phone.

' _Nothing much._ ' I message back, shielding the iPad from my teacher's eye. ' _We're doing math_ '

' _with who?_ ' Uriah replies.

' _Mrs Bales._ ' I text back.

' _Ooh._ ' I get a message back. ' _that's cold_ '

' _Literally?_ '

' _Yea lol_ '

' _How are u going with out ur dad?_ ' Uriah asks. I get a reminder that I won't be able to hug my dad whenever I get home, and can only talk to him on FaceTime or on the phone.

' _Fine._ ' I reply. ' _I still really miss him._ '

' _Aww_ ' Uriah messages back.

' _I'd better pay attention in class,_ ' I text Uriah. ' _See you at break._ '

'See u' Uriah replies, and I turn my iPad off.

"Repeat again, little monkeys! You write _down_ the base.." Mrs Bales' voice cut through my thoughts.

I cringe, and I suddenly wished I didn't have a 100 minute long math lesson on a Tuesday.

...

Well.. I guess this is gonna be a full-on day and night in the Clan. I told my mum I'm going to Holly's house for a sleepover, and she knows I'm just down the road so she doesn't check if I get there or not. She knows I'd be safe.

I head towards the ShadowClan camp as the sun was barely setting, and slink in.

"Glad to see you came back, Featherfall." Ashenfoot approaches me, Driftpool by his side as always.

"Yeah. I'll be staying here until tomorrow." I reply.

"Great." Driftpool growls. "Now we'll have to deal with a random rogue stealing our prey for a whole day."

Ashenfoot glares softly at her. "Featherfall can prove herself worthy of being a Clan member." His unsaid words shone in his eyes. Right? I blink back, trying to say 'Hopefully'.

"I was wondering where you went, loner." It was Fjordrunner, my apparent mentor.

"I cannot stay for the day most of the time." I mew. "But today I'll be staying until tomorrow morning, and coming back at sunset."

"Well, we're doing battle training." Fjordrunner growls. I nod hesitantly, and he beckons me to follow him out of camp. I glance at Ashenfoot, and he nods for me to go.

"Why don't you stay in camp the whole time?" Fjordrunner mutters, a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"I have to take care of my parents." I use the old lie I told Ivystar and Ashenfoot. "And they're pretty old, so they can't exactly hunt for themselves that well."

"I would understand," Fjordrunner mutters. "But I would make your parents join the Clan so your disappearances don't intervene with training."

I arrive at what may be the training hollow thing. A black she-cat with white dapples and amber eyes sits nearby, with a smaller fox-coloured she-cat with green eyes.

"This is Tumblecinder and her apprentice, Vixenpaw." Fjordrunner growls. I stifle a purr. I heard Vixenpaw getting scolded for not doing her duties when I first discovered the camp.

"Hi." I mew. Vixenpaw narrows her eyes. "Yeah, hello."

Tumblecinder gazes at her apprentice. "Don't talk like that to a new cat." She smiles at me. "You came by yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yes." I reply. "I did."

"Welcome to ShadowClan, then."

"Thank you."

I may have expected more cats to treat me like dirt. I guess there are some golden ones, though.

"Now, I would like both you and Featherfall to spar." Tumblecinder points to me and Vixenpaw. "Claws sheathed, and remember, it's just a test battle."

I gulp. I have no damn idea how to fight. But I guess I could use my instincts..

"Go!"

Vixenpaw does the first move, a swipe at my front legs, making me stumble.

I quickly get back up on my feet/paws and lunge at the dark orange she-cat. She easily dodges and slashes at my face. And slaps me. It stings like hell.

Growling, I slink towards her and swipe a paw at her side as hard as I could. She hisses, and I try and scramble to get away from her, before she flattens me to the ground. I struggle under her and manage to get away this time.

I hiss, and start to run towards her again, but doubling back again before lunging at her, knocking her down. That didn't end very well for me, since she easily shrugged me off and pinned me down.

"That's enough." Tumblecinder yowls. That 'spar' ended pretty damn fast.

"Vixenpaw, you did pretty well. Featherfall, you need quite a bit of work." Tumblecinder mews.

I snort. "I can't do well because I haven't really fought before." I mutter.

"We'll help you, then." Fjordrunner growls. I roll my eyes.

"Do you know how to hunt?" Tumblecinder meows.

"Of course I do. What do you think I am, a kit?" I deadpan. That was probably true, that I can hunt. Since I caught a gross miner bird before..

"Oh, I suppose you would be able to at your age." Tumblecinder murmurs. "I just wanted to check, that's all."

"We'll be training more tougher tomorrow." Fjordrunner mutters. "Okay." I reply, wanting to hang out with Ashenfoot. Driftpool, not so much. At least she's not hyper-friendly..

"That was a quick training session." Ashenfoot remarks as I arrive back in camp. "Fjordrunner wanted to see my fighting skills." I roll my eyes. "That didn't work out well."

"I'm mot surprised." Ashenfoot mews. "When I found you for the first time you didn't even try to fight me."

Luckily Driftpool wasn't around for once to hear that.

"Don't mention that around Driftpool." I mutter. "Right." Ashenfoot replies.

I gaze up, and see that the sun had set and white stars were starting to speckle the sky.

"Would it be bedtime now? Time for sleep?" I ask Ashenfoot.

"Bedtime?"

"For God's sake-"

"What-"

"Bed is another word for a nest." I growl.

Ashenfoot gazes at me weirdly, as if suggesting something. "Okay." He mews. "Want to go on a night walk?"

I stare at him. _What the hell? A walk?_

"Sure." I reply. Then I regret it.

...

I find myself walking with a tom in a gloomy forest.

"Well?" Ashenfoot mews. "What will you be doing while you're gone?"

"The usual," I wink at Ashenfoot. "Oh?"

"Looking after my parents because they're too damn lazy to hunt for themselves."

"..oh." He replies. He doesn't question that I say a word that he doesn't understand. He's probably realised the fact that I'm an idiot and won't keep my mouth shut.

"Wel- um," I say. "I think we should head back."

"Alright."

That was awkward, however quickly that walk lasted.

"It should be time to sleep," Ashenfoot growls, amber eyes annoyed. I have no idea why, by the way.

"There you are," Driftpool calls. She approaches me and eyes me and Ashenfoot warily. "Where have you two been?"

"Just on a walk." Ashenfoot replies, now looking awkward too.

"Okay, whatever." Driftpool mutters. She gazes at Ashenfoot with those cloudy blue eyes. "What are you going to do now?"

"Going to sleep." The grey-brown tom mews, emphasising his yawn. "It's nearly moonhigh."

"I think I will be sleeping, too." I say. I admit I'm exhausted as hell, and then wonder how these cats can go to stuff like Gatherings without getting tired.

"You'll be sleeping in the apprentices' den." Driftpool growls. "Don't try any ideas."

"I won't," I roll my eyes and stare at my fluffy cream tabby paws. "See you, Ashenfoot."

I yawn again with Ashenfoot, and I make my way to the apprentices' den. I actually sorta forgot where to go.

Luckily, I find it, and I settle down in a small, sorta comfortable nest. I could understand why sleeping here won't be so bad.

"Try not to have nightmares." Vixenpaw growls at me. "We don't want to wake up by your silly screaming."

 _We?_ I think. Then I see another she-cat laying beside Vixenpaw, a red-furred she-cat with a bushy tail.

"I get it. You don't like me." I hiss. "But you're going to have to deal with me for a while."

As I start to drift off, I hear shrieks of "WindClan!" and "Invading!" and I open my pale blue-grey eyes wide.

 **Both of my stories' current chapters have ended in a cliffhanger oh no**

 **Qotc: Will our character get better at battling? probably not lol**

 **Fun fact/s: 'Mrs Bales' is pretty much my very own maths teacher but with a different name, and I'm in her math class right now**

 **I have been posting (currently one) really short descriptive warriors one-shots in a new story so it would be nice if you wanna check them out :)**


	7. Chapter 6

Hello!

I seriously had writing block during this. I was actually planning to go on hiatus for a week or so.

But I pushed myself and finished this chapter.

At the time of this chapter publishing, we are 9 reviews, 1 favourite, and 3 follows away from getting as much support as River's Shadow! Thank you so much!

Also: 9 reviews! Oh my!

 **Splash of Thunder in Mist: Driftpool is Ashenfoot's childhood friend.**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Yeeah :D I love his character**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: I tried, but I had trouble writing this chapter so I uploaded my other story's chapter first :)**

 **Flower: Thank you!**

 **Bushclaww: Awesome! The main character normally comes home to sleep before her curfew so her mum doesn't worry about her. I mentioned in the last chapter she had pretended to go to her best friend's house for a sleepover :)**

 **Waterpool: Thank you!**

 **ItsMeLillia: A fjord is sorta hard to explain. It's a space between two steep cliffs, or mountains, and it's like two mountains that has a gorge or a river cutting through the middle of it. It's helpful to look it up XD**

 **repel: Haha xD thank you!**

 **Kykysuperfly23: Thank you for the oc's! I may not be able to add them immediately, but maybe later in the book I may add them :) I'm just gonna say the way the Clans act in Shekye's country is sorta different than the original Clans. So WindClan may be the new ShadowClan ):D**

 **Chapter 6**

I scramble out of the nest. More shrieks fill the air, and I start to breathe heavily.

"What is it now?" Vixenpaw scowls, glaring at me tiredly. The fox-coloured she-cat's fur was slightly ruffled. "You fell asleep pretty quickly." I mutter back.

"That's because I'm _tired_ of you having nightmares." Vixenpaw shot back at me.

"Name a time I had a nightmare-" I hiss back, only to be cut off by the other apprentice.

"You both need to quiet down." The red she-cat mutters. She sniffs the air, and I stand there, feeling awkward.

"WindClan." The she-cat confirms. "Possibly invading."

"Wait, did I hear you say- invading? Are you sure, Amberpaw?" Vixenpaw growls.

"Have you forgotten what WindClan smells like?" Amberpaw replies, half-scornfully.

I say nothing, and I slink up the slope and out of the apprentices' den.

What I see in front of me sort of scars me. Like, really scars me. For life.

Blood splatters the ShadowClan camp's floor. Cats are fighting in front of me, and it's real. Real bloodshed. Real cries of pain.

I'm guessing the lithe shapes are WindClan; the invaders. I can recognise a few ShadowClan warriors fighting them off. Why they are invading, I have no idea. Isn't ShadowClan meant to be the invading type?

"Featherfall!"

Ashenfoot glares at me, his grey-brown fur ruffled. "Stay out of the fighting. You still need practice, okay?"

"Don't tell me-"

A cat slams into me. And they smell weird. Weirder than ShadowClan. I shrug them off, shaking in my fur.

A WindClan warrior stands in front of me, and I gulp.

They leap at me.

The cat was bloodstained. I can tell, because her paws are more scarlet than white.

I try and unsheathe my claws. It's actually tricky to do at first when you've lived as a person for fourteen years.

The cat knocked me down, slashing my cheek and bringing hot, unfamiliar pain and blood trickling from the scratch.

I struggle, and I use my hind legs to kick the cat away. It seemed to be a she-cat, too.

The cat yowls as I hit them belly, and precedes to bite my trailing tail. It hurts so freaking bad.

I snap at the cat, and they dodge away. Taking that as an advantage, I slice at the closest leg. A screech, and then a slap in the face with claws unsheathed. Why are these cats so into slapping me?

I try and slap them back. Note I say try. The cat dodges, but I lunge at them when they flinch.

Hey, I'm actually fending this cat off! I admit, I didn't see that coming.

That feeling of success made me feel good inside. Maybe a Clan life isn't as hard as I thought.

"Why is this cat helping us? We don't need help!"

A black-and-silver ShadowClan cat glares at me. She is fighting a brown tabby tom.

"I'm going to have to fight anyway." I hiss back.

The black-and-white she-cat I was fighting took my distraction as an advantage, like I had used her dodge to mine.

She kicks me off, like, really hard. I land with a thud on the ground, winded and wheezing. These cats are strong as hell.

The black cat approaches me, her amber eyes narrowed.

"You're going to have to try harder to fend me off." I say, putting cockiness into my voice. The she-cat falls for the taunt, and lashes her tail.

I feint to one side, and knock her paws out from under her, a move I had read about in one of the books.

The cat hisses as she stumbles, and as she gets up she forces me to lie on my side. She slices at my belly, and I shamefully squeal at the pain.

I am really exhausted now. I can see black spots now.

The weight comes off me.

"I told you not to fight!" Ashenfoot growls at me. He was pinning the she-cat down, away from me. I narrow my watery-blue eyes.

"I didn't exactly have a choice." I snap.

The groups are starting to thin out. Most of the WindClan warriors had fled, and ShadowClan has defended their camp from WindClan.

"What were you thinking, Thistlestar?" Ivystar stalks towards a large black tom with brown paws. Her scratches are deep and stain the fur around them with scarlet. "Invading a Clan camp unprovoked? How foolish can you be?"

"We needed to ensure you wouldn't attack us first." The tom growls in a low voice, flicking his black tail.

"By invading our camp? With your whole Clan?" Ivystar inquires coldly.

My head spins, and I don't listen to the supposed leaders' argument.

"Do you need herbs?"

I turn to see a pale silver she-cat with black markings and peculiar sandy-yellow stripes. Medicine cat?

"Don't waste your herbs on me." I reply, not meeting the she-cat's grey eyes.

"I have plenty of herbs to last." The medicine cat mews.

"You'd need them for leaf-bare." I argue.

"Alright.." The silver medicine cat sighs. "My name is Willowfall, by the way."

"Hi." I reply curtly, suddenly getting the feeling I need to leave.

I turn to leave the camp, bleeding and tired, before cats would start to gang up on me for being a terrible fighter. "Sparkheart, Thistlestar, take your wounded and get back to your own camp." Ivystar growls.

Thistlestar and the black-and-white she-cat nod. I was fighting the deputy? God..

I slip out and dash away from the camp, sighing. I could feel heat forming behind my eyes, and I blink away the tears.

...

"Wait- no! No!" Uriah shrieks, slamming his gamepad on the couch as explosions from my TV sounds out. "God!"

I couldn't stifle my laughter. "You suck at this game, Uri."

"How am I supposed to know that I accidentally threw a guy holding a bomb-rock?" Uriah scowls.

"You shouldn't press that button while your whole squad is with you as well as a few air-strikers." I point at a certain button on his gamepad. "You murdered most of our wings, since you threw one of them while it held a bomb-rock and walked towards it."

"I know! I saw! I misclicked- and-"

"Misclicks are always your excuse." I point out. "You just suck."

"Come on!" Uriah complains, shoving me.

"I think you might want to have me have the air-force." I chuckle, nudging Uriah softly. "Since I don't misclick as much."

"Fine. Pink pikmin are weak anyway."

"They're called wings, and they are damn useful for cheating the system into getting stuff that can't be reached normally."

"Whatever." Uriah grumbles.

"Funny how you own the game and still I'm better at you at it."

"You're mean."

"No, actually, you're the one caused a genocide of 70 winged pikmin." I laugh.

"I'm getting better, at least." Uriah mumbles, his face sulky.

"I helped you finish most of the game, and you're still stuck on the Plasm-wraith tunnel bit."

"But it's hard!"

"It's pretty easy if you use rocks." I reason.

"You know what? Let's play something else."

"Like what?"

"Something that doesn't involve explosions."

"Deal."

 **Finally :,v I was giving up on the fighting scene, tbh**

 **I got nothing to say.. help?**

 **Remember that the extra scenes are just snippets of our main character's daily life and stuff that happens at school UvU**

 **Main priority now: River's Shadow chapter 16. Phew.**

 **Qotc: Why did WindClan actually invade?**

 **Please review (3**


	8. Chapter 7

Henlo!

Long chapter!

Why does it seem like it's been ages since I last updated? It's only been like 5 days haha

I think I'm starting to get a bit more humour back into this story. I'm happy 'bout that.

We have reached 50 reviews! 50! AHH!

 ******I have a new Warriors story up! It's called _'In Unity'_ and is a more.. serious? story than this. I'll be asking for a certain number of reviews in order to update a new chapter, to make it easier than writing 3 chapters for 3 stories every week or so. I regrettedly asked for 7, which I probably wouldn't get. Oops. Check the story out in my bio!******

 **Random challenge I'm trying to achieve: Try and get more reviews on this story than I am getting on my other main story, River's Shadow! (Currently 61 for Rs and 50 for Ff)**

* * *

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: I'm glad :)**

 **Waterpool: Thanks for the tip! I'll try and do that when writing fight scenes.**

 **Flower: Possibly! ;)**

 **Redtail1192: Haha! I would admittedly say that I'd go for my own character- but I'll say Sparkheart had the massive advantage and would have won anyways!**

 **ItsMeLillia: I like your thinking! And to answer that question, I'll just say Shekye/Featherfall keeps the injuries she has from both of her 'forms' when changing. So, if she had a broken arm as a human, changed into a cat, and changed back to human again, she'd still have the broken arm as a human. She will only have the broken arm in her human 'form' and not in her cat one.** **So she'd keep her injuries she gets no matter what, unless they heal. Sorry if it's a little confusing x)**

 **Bushclaww: I like your guesses!**

 **repel: Haha! Yes! They're totally jealous.. though I would love to write a story that has WindClan as the main Clan though. Let's give those filthy invaders a taste of frog ):D**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

"Where were you yesterday?"

Ashenfoot's amber eyes are narrowed, and still-red scars lace his fur from yesterday's battle.

"I.." I say. "I-I didn't want to face the others in case they would s-scorn my terrible fighting." My eyes sting and I start to feel embarrassed.

"You were fine." Ashenfoot mews back gently. "You managed to do a few good wounds on Sparkheart- the black she-cat."

I nearly forgot I had fought the deputy of WindClan. My wounds start to sting again, a reminder that my injuries do not heal after changing back. I could feel blood trickling from them, most of the scarlet coming from the slice on my cheek.

"Thanks." I reply, nearly dryly. "I knew I could count on someone to tell me a lie." I stumble in my place after I start to feel the effect of blood-loss.

"You need Willowfall." Ashenfoot murmurs, nearly desperately.

"Don't waste your stupid herbs on me." I snap suddenly, making Ashenfoot glare at me.

"I really don't care if you don't want them." He growls. "Though I would care if you die of infection, especially since you've left your wounds bleeding over night."

"How the hell could I make my scratches not bleed while I'm sleeping?" I retort.

I feel something brush against my shoulder. I look at it, and I see it is a silvery grey striped tail. The owner of the tail is a young dark silver tabby she-cat with stormy blue eyes. She bears no scars, and she reeks of sharp herbs.

"I heard you left camp before anyone could treat you." The she-cat mews. "So I suppose I could do it for you, if you'd like."

"I swear, I don't need herbs-"

"Willowfall also told me you're stubborn about accepting help." The silver tabby cuts me off, and I glare at her.

"Being stubborn is true to her nature, Stormpaw." Ashenfoot smiles coolly, gazing at me smugly. How would he know if I'm stubborn or not? He doesn't know me on a personal level. And why is he trying to poke fun at me now?

"I've noticed." The she-cat, Stormpaw, replies.

I scowl. "Anyway, are you a medicine cat?"

"Medicine cat apprentice." Stormpaw corrects me. "Are you going to let me fix up your wounds?"

"You know what? Fine. But use a smaller amount of herbs on me than you did with the others."

Stormpaw's eyes twinkled. "Thank you." She purrs, smirking.

I follow the dark silver tabby towards the medicine cat den. It's a quaint little place; a simple little clearing with a wall of branches on both sides. Not the safest den, but I guess it's okay for now.

Willowfall lays in there. "Managed to convince her to let you help?" She mews.

"Mhm." Stormpaw replies, casting a smug look in my direction. I glare back at her.

Stormpaw grabs a golden flower from a little dip and starts to.. you guessed it.. chew it up.

I hold back a gag. How the hell do these medicine cats deal with chewing on a plant and then spitting it out to put it onto a cat's scratches without being sick?

"Well?" Stormpaw mews at me, slight impatience in her tone. Uh, hello, kitty, but I'm trying not to be sick here.

"Y-yeah?"

"Which is your worst scratch?" Stormpaw mews.

Dread fills me. My worst wound is on my cheek-

"That one." I say without thinking, pointing at my stinging left cheek with my paw. I bite my tongue after saying that, and I start to taste a bit of blood in my mouth.

Stormpaw drops the chewed-up gross green paste onto an ivy leaf and smears it on my cheek with a paw.

Wearing a blank look on her face, she rubs it in like a little child paints with their finger-paints on a canvas.

It stings. Really stings. I release my tongue and bite the inside of my cheek to stop tiny tears from forming.

"There." Stormpaw says. "I'll do the rest of them, then."

I was about to yell that I don't need spit-infused green stuff to be rubbed onto my scratches. But I restrain myself from saying anything I might regret.

"I'll be fine now, thank you." I say coolly. But I feel more poultice being smeared on my scratches. I wince.

"All done." Stormpaw mews. Ech. That marigold poultice was nasty and- gross! It's still warm!

I nod hastily to her and leave the den as quick as I could, hearing Willowfall praise her apprentice.

"You took your time." Driftpool grunts as I approach her, Ashenfoot, and another cat I didn't know.

"Why? Were you waiting for some cat to pop up out of nowhere for you to insult?" I reply dryly.

"This is Quietleaf." Ashenfoot says hastily, pointing to the silver tabby cat by Driftpool's side. Quietleaf had a single black paw and green eyes.

"Hello." I say, dipping my head. "You would have heard of me by now, haven't you?"

"Yes." Quietleaf mews back softly, and I could sorta understand why she was named Quietleaf. "Featherfall, right?"

I blink, and nod. "That's me."

"Fjordrunner wanted to take you on a hunting patrol along with Ashenfoot, Lilyfrost, Amberpaw, and Strikeheart. Unless you don't know how to hunt." Driftpool adds wryly.

"I do." I huff, narrowing my eyes at the snarky she-cat. At least Ashenfoot is on this patrol..

"Now?" I say. "Are we doing the patrol now?"

"I would like it if you would."

I jump, and Fjordrunner stands behind me, his eyes betraying boredness. I inwardly groan.

"Ah. Okay." Ashenfoot replies, standing up. "Goodbye, Driftpool, Quietleaf."

I'm glad to leave those two she-cats behind. Not that I didn't like the look of Quietleaf, but Driftpool is seriously doing my head in.

A glossy-furred white she-cat, with pale red markings and blue-green eyes, stands nearby the black-and-silver she-cat with green eyes who distracted me during the battle. Amberpaw stands close by.

"This is Lilyfrost," Ashenfoot points at the white-and-red she-cat. "And Strikeheart. You should know who Amberpaw is, anyway." The grey-brown tom nods at the black-and-silver she-cat, Strikeheart.

"Hi." I say, not really willing to say much. We start walking out the camp and into the forest.

Strikeheart doesn't mention how bad I am at fighting. Amberpaw doesn't make a remark at anything. Fjordrunner chatted to Lilyfrost. Ashenfoot presses against me while we walk.

After a while, I taste something - strangely woody - on the breeze as I open my mouth. I think it is a mouse? I think?

"I've gotten track of a mouse," I whisper to the group. A few eyes rolled and I bite onto my.. err.. lips? To stop myself from growling at them.

Leaving the group, I crouch to the ground. The mouse scent is stronger.

Scanning the area, I finally sight the little thing. A lil' brown mouse. How cute. It's snuffling at some grass- oh, now it's nibbling on something- nevermind, it's running away.

Wait.

Recollecting myself, I tear after the rodent.

My cream tabby paws were a blur in my pursuit after the mouse. After a few seconds, the mouse realised it was being chased by something and it squeals. I nearly laugh.

I leap, and my paws land on- you guessed it- the mouse! Wow!

Instead of biting its neck like I had before, I turn the screaming bugger onto its back (do you realise how damn hard that was to do?), unsheathe my claws, and slash them over the mouse's neck. I refuse to look at the damage I did.

The mouse stopped moving. Still not willing to look at the mouse that probably looked gross, I flip it over and crack a watery blue eye open. It was dea-

Nope. It gets up and makes a run for it.

Luckily, I'm close enough to jump and catch it. And when I catch it, I crush its head into the ground (gruesome..) and it goes still without moving again. I think I killed it.

"Thank God.." I mutter. Anything to get it out of its misery.

"Hey, you actually caught something." Ashenfoot approaches me. He is dragging a dead crow by the wing, and I cringe. I love animals, and it still scars me when I see dead stuff on the prey pile.

"Wow, thanks." I say, rolling my eyes.

"I expected worse after seeing you battle." Ashenfoot jokes. He flicks me on my shoulder and grins. "Let's see how the others have done, shall we?"

...

"Go, Shekye! Run for it! No- don't use your inside arm! Use your outside arm!"

I do a suppressed glare at my netball coach, Melissa. Playing a test-game at seven at night isn't very smart for some people my age.

"Yeah, Shekye!" My best friend Holly calls, smirking. "You shouldn't use your inside arm!" She's sitting on the sidelines. Lucky girl.

My opposition - a girl named Jess - races ahead of me, as if she still has all her energy. I suppress a groan and press a hand to my forehead.

"All right! Training's over!" My coach calls. I sink to the ground and literally rip my netball bib off.

"Were you even trying?" Holly walks up to me, passing me my water bottle.

"I was already exhausted." I puff. "An hour of training and then a full-on test game? Sick."

"Alright," Holly says. "Keep your head on."

We walk towards the trees, and Holly hauls herself onto the tyre swing we made hanging from one of the trees.

Staring out at the bush, Holly suddenly says, swinging on the tyre, "Do you ever wish you were a cat?"

I was lost for words. "W-what?"

"I mean, wouldn't it be awesome to run through the trees.. be free and do whatever you want.." Holly trails off, and continues swinging.

"S-sure, whatever." I mutter, trying not to keep my face from flushing red.

"That wouldn't happen any time soon, though." Holly continues. She sighs. I admit, she talks way too open sometimes.

"Yeah. I guess it would be kinda cool." I reply, sitting on a dirt mound that rose up nearby.

What if Holly found out her possible dream became reality for me? Would she actually stay my best friend, or think I'm a witch, or something? Or, maybe, what would Ashenfoot do if he discovered I was actually a person?

I smile softly. Surely that wouldn't happen. None of that can happen unless something big happens, right?

I gaze into the night sky. "It would be cool."

 **WHEW**

 **Qotc: What do you think would happen if Ashenfoot/Holly (our main character's best friend) found out she could switch between cat/human? Weird question, I know.**

 **Please review if you want!**


	9. Chapter 8

Hi!

Things have been going by quite fast in the past week; I've done around 5 school tests this week (Maths, science, English, bible studies, and cooking spaghetti bolognese by myself in silence for an hour) and I wasn't sure if I was able to get this done. But here it is!

This is kind of a bland chapter, in my opinion. And, I think I'm making the plot speed up too much. Maybe I should make some filler chapters, maybe I shouldn't. Oh well :))

60 total reviews and 10 on the last chapter? Oh. My. God. Thank you.

 **Redtail1192: Haha, Ashenfoot's girl friend (with spaces)? That's, like, perfect.**

 **Waterpool: Hmm.. there is a chance Ashenfoot would be mad.**

 **ItsMeLillia: Ha, yes! I'd bet Holly would be jealous.. and I'm gonna Ashenfoot would be thinking 'what the hell' if he found out.**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: I wonder if Ashenfoot would actually be confused.. hmm ;)**

 **Bushclaww: Ooh, I actually like those!**

 **Flower: Thank you! I'm trying my best to let Featherfall meet all the ShadowClan cats to be fair and stuff. It may drive a wedge between Featherfall/Shekye, Holly, and Ashenfoot's 'relationships', but we gotta wait and see.**

 **SilverMidnight: Thank you for reading so far!**

 **Flame: Thanks, Flame! ;)**

 **WolfStorm of ShadowClan: I'm glad I inspired you! :o**

 **Guest: Thank you!**

On a lighter note, here's the sorta-late, chapter 8! (Hey, that rhymes!)

 **Chapter 8**

I start to walk towards the ShadowClan camp, my limbs aching and my scratches scarring over. It's been a few days since I came back to ShadowClan, and I had been enjoying the days of peace while strolling through the bushland.

"Featherfall! We found you!"

I feel the fur on my neck lift as I feel like someone is looking at me. Turning, I spot Tumblecinder standing with a group of ShadowClan warriors that I didn't know - a dusty-grey tom, a fluffy brown tabby she-cat, Willowfall, and the golden she-cat that Ivystar called the deputy.

"Ivystar wanted to know where you are." The golden deputy mewed, her icy-blue eyes placid.

"I was just about to visit." I reply, flicking my tail.

"It took you a few days, didn't it?" The dusty-grey tom chirps, receiving a mild glare from me.

"I didn't want to intervene with your recovery after the WindClan attack." I say coolly, before lifting an eyebrow (again, do cats have eyebrows?). "Actually, do you know the reason why they attacked?"

The golden she-cat exchanges a glance with the rest of the patrol. "No. Only that we were the last Clan WindClan has attacked in the past few moons."

I couldn't exactly hide my shock, y'see. "They've been attacking the _other Clans_?" I say incredulously.

"Yep." The fluffy brown tabby mews, her green eyes betraying worry. "They've already attacked ThunderClan twice." She shifts her white paws. "I don't want them to attack again."

"It's alright, Forestash." Willowfall purrs, flicking her silver-and-sandy-yellow tail onto the tabby's. "We'll show them whose strongest next time they try to show their faces in our camp."

The young brown she-cat, Forestash, seems to brighten up. "Yeah. I will keep them away from the kits at all costs." Then, her eyes turned scornful. "That would mean Fjordrunner will have to help, too.." She growled under her breath. "The kits don't like him.."

"Well," The deputy mews, scanning me with icy-blue eyes. I meet her gaze coolly. "We'll be going back to camp now. Ashfeather, Forestash and Willowfall are staying to collect herbs, but you and Tumblecinder are coming with me."

"Alrighty." I reply, shifting my pale cream paws. For some reason, I feel like somethings' not right today.

"Let's go, then." Tumblecinder purrs. She trots in the direction of camp, and I slowly follow, my fur feeling hot and uncomfortable in the autumn sun.

Here, the gum trees don't get rich coloured leaves consisting of browns and reds. The leaves either get paler in colour or just turn plain brown. Sometimes I like it like that. What if I went to Canada, or something? To see those pretty maple leaves.. but it might be too cold for me.. or I could just find a maple tree in my area.

"Quit your dawdling, Featherfall."

I snap back to reality and quickly get flustered at the fact I was fantasising about trees of all things. I'm dumb, like that.

The golden deputy looks at me. "You were about to walk into a tree." Her tone was amused, and I mentally slap myself. "Sorry." I reply, ducking my head to stare at my paws, which seem to get a little more dirtier every time I visit ShadowClan. "I should probably focus more."

"It's fine." The deputy chided, making it sound I'm like a kit who just asked to go on a battle patrol to Sunningrocks or whatever. "The colours are rather pretty this time of season."

No, they're not. They're boring, if you've been to Canada.

"Yeah." I force myself to reply. I'm not big on small talk, if you didn't know.

"I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" The deputy mews, lightly chuckling. "I'm Reedfrost."

I dip my head. "Yeah. I has guessed you were the deputy, but I didn't know your name."

Reedfrost smiles faintly, as if she detected my strange tone of voice. "You're right. I am the deputy."

"Sorry," I suddenly say. "When are we getting back to camp?" I'm getting impatient with all the slow walking. Then I notice that Tumblecinder's really far ahead of us.

"Oh, I think we should hurry up." Reedfrost replies, looking at Tumbecinder with slight annoyance. "She likes to go ahead sometimes."

She flicks me on the shoulder with her tail. "Let's catch up with her and head back a little faster, hm?"

...

"I was wondering where you were." Ashenfoot mews, looking at me up and down.

"I don't have to come to the Clans every day, you know." I say, wrinkling my nose. "I have other stuff to do, too."

Before Ashenfoot can say anything, I hear a shriek. Stiffening and staring at the grey-brown tom, he quickly opens his mouth to tell me what is going on. "One of our queens, Whiteshadow, is having her kits."

I set my mouth in a straight line from my shock. "What?"

"It's fine," Ashenfoot says, "It's going fine."

"No, it's not." I hiss, flattening my ears. I cannot stand hearing others scream like that. I hate it, and I want to go home now. It's selfish, in a way. I feel uncomfortable hearing people scream or cry, and I want to slap them to shut them up. It is selfish.

Turning around, I dash out of camp, only faintly hearing Fjordrunner call to me for a training session and Ashenfoot's reply to what I have said.

"Come back!" Ashenfoot yowls, his pounding steps getting louder and louder behind me. I sprint faster, managing to dodge termite hills and straying tree roots, telling myself this wasn't a good idea. It wasn't a good idea to run. I could have helped hunt for the Clan, I could have helped the queen by getting stuff for her and the medicine cats..

No. It's way too much for me now. I'm understanding why I didn't come for a few days. I'm getting overwhelmed by the responsibility of the Clan.

"Wait!"

I slow down at the sound of Ashenfoot's call, and I start to pant. That was a stupid thing to do, and I shouldn't have ran. I need to go back to the Clan today, and train as best I can in case WindClan or another Clan attacks.

Ashenfoot catches up with me. "What are you doing?" He puffs. "It's only a queen having her kits. And it was nearly over, too."

"Sorry.." I say sheepishly, closing my eyes as a strange shiver wracks through my fur. "I don't like hearing crying."

"That's fine." Ashenfoot replies, smiling slightly. "I don't like the sound you make when you land in a pile of dry leaves."

I widen my eyes, the uncomfortable feeling fading and my happy-ish personality coming back. "But that's a really satisfying sound! How can you not like that sound?"

"I just don't like it." Ashenfoot says, looking a tinge embarrassed now. "It makes me feel weird."

"Alright." I say, rolling my eyes. "However fun it is to jump into piles of leaves, I won't judge you for that again."

"Thanks." Ashenfoot purrs, flicking me on the shoulder. "Should we get back to camp? I think Whiteshadow would have had her kits by now."

I nearly forgot. Kits! Ahh! I want to see kits! They can talk to me now, too!

And I also forgot that I have a school test tomorrow. A science one. And I need to study.

"Oh.. I.." I say, suddenly feeling desperate. "I can't. The reason why I wasn't here for a few days is because.." I quickly lie again. "My.. err.. parents, are sick, and I have to hunt for herbs and tend to them more."

"How _old_ are your parents?" Ashenfoot's amber eyes widen. "If they can't hunt on their own anymore, yet try and heal themselves?"

"They had kits at an older age than usual." I reply, the lies rolling off my tongue, making me blush with guilt.

"I- I have to go." I say again, gazing at Ashenfoot desperately. I really need to go study. Now. I can't stay here for long. Not yet.

"So early?" He replies, looking disappointed. He obviously wanted me to stay longer."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." I look at him, smiling, and stalk away. I trot through an invisible path, flicking my tail and trotting through the damp undergrowth.

Taking in a deep breathe, I quickly change back to human form. Ergh.

"Time to get out of here." I sigh under my breath.

"Mrrow?"

In surprise, I turn to the sound. What I see behind me makes my heart skip a beat.

It's Ashenfoot. He stands there. And I'm not a cat anymore. He saw me. He saw me, turn into a human and is staring at me.

His amber eyes seem to betray no emotion now, since I'm.. well.. not in a form that can understand their movements too precisely.

"I-" I say, before turning to run. And that's what I did, my eyes starting to sting. Why? I don't know. All I know is that Ashenfoot probably thinks I'm some supernatural cat monster.

Once I stop in a secluded clearing, I become a cat again, and I turn to run towards Ashenfoot's scent.

"A-Ashenfoot!" I yowl, my eyes flicking between many landmarks I have claimed as a part of my home.

Ashenfoot still stands in the same area as before. His amber eyes are horrified. Then, he snaps out of whatever trance he was in, and looks at me in shock.

"Were you.. just-"

"Ashenfoot," I cut him off, looking at him and begging silently for him to understand. "Are you alright?"

"Did you just turn into a twoleg?" He asks, his eyes no longer shocked but still wary. It's strange, how quickly your emotions can change. "Is that why you leave so early? Is that why.. you.."

I gaze at the ground, sighing softly. I was planning to tell him. I was. But not so early.

"Ashenfoot, I.."

I break off, and lift my head to look at him right in the eye.

"I was not born as a cat." I say, wincing at the words. "I really am a human- a twoleg."

 **Ta-da. Accidental/lame twist.**

 **What will Ashenfoot do now that his girl friend (note the space between girl and friend ;)) is revealed to be a human. Oh no.**

 **Qotc: What do you think will happen now? Will Ashenfoot hate her, tell the Clan, or keep it a secret?**

 **Also: If you want more serious Warriors stories, check out my other two main stories River's Shadow and In Unity ;D**

 **Also also: I got a Deviantart (which only has two drawings on it)! Dawnyflight.** **deviantart . com**

 **Review if you want (3**


	10. Chapter 9

Writing spree! It's raining because of the leftover rain from cyclone Debbie! Take this early (but short :c) chapter.

70 reviews already. Dude. I'm expecting 100 by chapter 12.. this is insane, man.

 **WolfStorm of ShadowClan: Maybe ;)**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Yeah.. hopefully ;)**

 **Flower: Well.. uh.. sorry. Hopefully you won't kill me now, because.. well.. Kidding, I probably didn't break the ship. Probably**

 **StarSky15: Thank you!**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Poor Ashenfoot probably doesn't understand some of those words :(**

 **Bushclaww: I'm glad! Hope you get better :)**

 **RandomWarriorThatLikesStuff: It exists now!**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Let's see how he reacts ;))**

 **Guest: Thanks!**

 **Guest 2.0: Your guesses may or may not be exactly what I was planning.. oops ;)**

 **Chapter 9**

I stare at Ashenfoot, pouring all my hope in my watery-grey eyes as I silently beg him to understand.

"Is that why you never stay in the camp?" Ashenfoot suddenly snarls at me, lashing his grey-brown tail. I flinch back and lower my eyes to the tough ground that stretched my paws.

"It shocked me when.. I found out I could become.. what I had used to dream of when I was younger." I say quietly, not meeting Ashenfoot's hostile glare. "When I found out the Clans were real.. I couldn't let my opportunity go. To join the Clans I have always wished to join. To hunt and fight for my Clan."

"I still don't understand why you had to lie to me." Ashenfoot growls, his gaze also broken, and his fur starting to settle back smoothly along his shoulders. "If I had known, I wouldn't have scolded you for leaving so much. If you had trusted me enough to know who you really were, maybe it would end up differently."

"You're.. not going to run away? Like.. I'm some evil creature?" I whisper, finally bringing myself to stare boldly into his eyes.

"It's weird." Ashenfoot murmurs, his voice different to what it was a second ago. "You had fooled me." He admits, sitting down as if it was an attempt to relieve himself from the shock. "I really thought you were just a loner. Who somehow knew lots of things the Clans, and was just curious about life in the Clans.."

He then looks at me. "But, now you say you're actually a twoleg.. it's easy to see that you really didn't act like a normal cat. Or Clan cat, for that matter."

I feel like I was just scolded by a mother, like a kit who had just hidden all the prey in a camp, and was told I was allowed to go and play with my littermates. Exaggeration? Probably.

"It's weird." Ashenfoot continues. "Talking to a.. twoleg. Clan cats, me included, don't understand what you twolegs actually do in your lives. To ride into a monster's belly?" He snorts. "I don't understand. In a Clan, you do what you need to do, without too much confusion."

"I'm.. not sure if I understand." I stammer. "Living as a perso- twoleg is mostly simple, in your first ten-twenty years."

"Years?"

"Four seasons." I say. "Twolegs live a rather.. long time." It feels incredibly strange to talk about your life as a person. It feels.. uncomfortable. I wish I had stayed in camp, a few minutes ago. Maybe Ashenfoot wouldn't be so confused, or maybe I wouldn't get this strange feeling, like my secrets had been forced out of my mouth like my life had defended on it, and I regretted my every word.

Ashenfoot stares at me with strange amber eyes. "You twolegs are weird. Though, maybe it's not so weird, if you could use it to your advantage."

I stare back, feeling my fluffy face (ha-ha.) blush with confusion and another strange feeling. "What?"

"I mean," Ashenfoot mews. "If you are running away from something, couldn't you.."

"Turn back and scare them?" I finish, and he nods, sudden excitement in his gaze. "You could tell me what living as a twoleg is like. How they play, how they work."

I realise that Ashenfoot was still a young warrior, and he is still surrounded by wonders of the world, however dark they may be. He still wants to know what the world has to offer for him. He has seen the light of battle, but that wouldn't be enough for him. I know.

"Hell.." I murmur suddenly. "This feels.. weird." I suddenly want to go to the ShadowClan camp, to welcome the queen's kits, if the queen would allow me.

"Yeah." Ashenfoot replies, his mouth in a straight line. I shuffle my paws, and stiffen as he looks at me with a strange look of new-found respect. "We should go now."

I breathe out a sigh of relief and shook out my fur. It still feels strange adjusting to cat movements, and even sometimes the sounds that come out of my mouth feel weird and don't sound like me at all.

"Are you alright?" I mew to Ashenfoot. He hasn't looked at me since we started walking through the dense bushland, through the eucalyptus trees scented with sweet-yet-bitter leaves.

"Fine." He replies blankly. I suddenly feel stress creep into my heart.

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"No. It wouldn't help with anything." My heart stops right before he says that, and I sigh in relief again. I want to relieve this tension that I am feeling right now. _Maybe I should go home.._

"Was that a lie?" Ashenfoot mews, making me jump slightly in surprise.

"What was?"

"That you have to leave to care for your.. parents?"

I pause for a moment. "Yes. It was a lie. My parents.." I think about my mum, and my dad. "I still have one living with me. My.. mother." A stone seems to lodge in my throat. "My dad left."

"Not at a young age, I hope?" Ashenfoot mews suspiciously.

"No. You're getting the wrong idea." I correct him. "He had to leave for his.." I struggle to find words that Ashenfoot would understand. "He had to leave to do his duties. He moved to another state."

"State?"

"Uhh.. like, imagine if there was another Clan far away from yours." I say quickly. "And, your father was still in your Clan. Until, one day, our Clan ran out of.. food," I say. "And he left us to join the other Clan so he could get food. And, he probably won't come back."

Ashenfoot is silent for a second. "Oh." He says.

"Yeah." I say, before sighing. I suddenly get an idea, and I grin. I slowly move my tail to Ashenfoot's shoulder, quickly tapping it and yowling, "You're it!"

I sprint away from him, and I hear him yowling, "Hey!" Before hearing his pawsteps thunder behind me.

Grinning like a manic as I dash through the trees towards camp, shreds of colour flashes past me as I pound through the bushland, somehow stepping over bindiies in the ground and dodging termite hills.

"Slow down! You're about to-"

Too late. I manage to avoid everything but a paperbark tree, for God's sake. I bump straight into it, pieces of soft bark sticking into my fluffy fur, and end up on the ground.

Ashenfoot catches up to me, laughing. "I told you to look out for the tree." He jokes, flicking me on the shoulder to tag me.

"You told me to _look out,_ not _look out for that tree._ " I rasp, my vision spinning and my head confused and hurting.

Ashenfoot draws in a breath. "Are you okay?"

"Ha!" I yell before tapping him on the muzzle and scrambling up to run from him, stumbling since I'm still freaking hurt from running into a soft-barked tree. Pfft, soft-barked. It's only soft when you touch it lightly.

"I want to get back." I mutter before Ashenfoot can tag me. "My head still hurts."

...

"How did you manage to get a scratch, on one of those trees?" Willowfall laughs as she presses a halved horsetail plant into a cut on my face, juice trickling into it and making me wince.

"One of the branches got me." I lie quickly, receiving a glare from Ashenfoot, as he had seen my tree collision and can confirm that I hadn't gotten scratched by a trailing branch.

"You're done here." Stormpaw mews, stifling a purr as Ashenfoot recounts the story of how I got injured.

Poking my fluffy cream tabby head and looking up at the sky, I gasp in surprise as the blue stretch above me isn't actually blue; it is painted with oranges and pinks, a large ball of fire bathing the trees around me in a golden light. The sun was setting already. This day went hella fast.

"It's sunset," I say. "I should go now."

Ashenfoot's amber eyes betray a different kind of understanding. "You can go. I'll tell Ivystar you left."

Blinking in thanks, I say my farewell to Willowfall and Stormpaw and flick Ashenfoot warmly on the shoulder before leaving camp, the sun bathing me in a warm yellow glow and the birds' song calming to my ears as I make my way home.

 **Well okay. I guess that was a little lame. But I have nothing else for this chapter.**

 **This chapter is full of random decriptions.. it was probably the feeling of sorrow when my English teacher put on the movie Kung Fu Panda and my best friend wouldn't be quiet when laughing or would loudly whisper in my ear. :,)**

 **What bindiies and paperbark trees are (if you wanna know): bindiies are little weeds that can grow pretty much anywhere in open grassy areas (including front lawns *mumble*) and they have 'spheres' of little seeds with needle-like ends that will prick painfully into your feet when you step on them, leaving them stuck there until you pull them out. Ouch. Annoying buggers. Paperbark trees are nice little trees that have really soft, easily-peelable paper-thin layers of bark.**

 **Qotc: Why do you think Ashenfoot was so ready to forgive and understand Featherfall's confession?**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading chapter 9 (3**


	11. Chapter 9-99999 (Ultimate April Fools)

***DISCLAIMER: THIS IS AN APRIL FOOLS CHAPTER. CONTINUE READING IF YOU WANT TO BE INCREDIBLY CONFUSED.***

Hi, guys! Sorry, this chapter is really short, I have writer's block because I can't think of a better witty excuse to write short chapters :(

soo, yeah! Enjoy!

 **Redtail1192: Yeah! I can't wait to write a Gathering chapter :)**

 **Flower: Very, strange things he must have seen to not be too weirded out by seeing a cat turn into a person.**

 **Waterpool: Ooh.. wait, _done something similar before?_ I might have to question his past a little more now..**

 **Tawnypelt37: May or may not be on the right track ;)**

 **Bushclaww: He _could_ be faking that he was born a Clan cat.. that can give out so many possibilities!**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: I'm looking forward to revealing his past ;)**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: That explains it. 0-WTF-0 indeed.**

 **Splash of Thunder in Mist: He probably think's it's an epic power ;)**

 **Princessaurora2004: Possibly ;) Thank you!**

 **Warriorsfirestar: I'd bet that, too!**

 **Chapter 9.999999**

I open my eyes. Wow. Creative. Scanning my bedroom, I feel something is.. off.. oh, wait. What's this furry bundle on my feet?

My heart skips a beat. It's Ashenfoot. Ashenfoot's lying on my bed suddenly. But, I'm a human currently? How did he find my house? Or get in?

"Hi, Featherfall." Ashenfoot suddenly murmurs, rolling onto his back and peeking at me with one amber eye. I stiffen.

"A-Ashenfoot, how are you-"

"Hi, twoleg! Featherfall- you know what? Whatever! Hi!"

Driftpool? She stands at the base of my bed. Okay, this is weird. W-w-wa-wait. Is Driftpool.. acting peppy? Is she being friendly to me? How does she know I'm Featherfall? How is she talking to me while I'm in my human form-

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be so blind." A grey tabby cat is suddenly sitting on my studying chair, looks at me with strange jay-blue eyes, like he can't see anything.

It's Jayfeather?

What the hell is happening? How the hell is Jayfeather here? I recall that the original Clans in England are just in the books and not real, but-

"You _are_ blind, Jay."

Great. Is this Lionblaze? A big thick-furred golden tabby? Hell no! Actually, he just freaking confirmed he is indeed my most hated cat in the books beside Clear Sky by calling the grey tabby 'Jay'.

"She hates you." Jayfeather suddenly says to his brother, quivering his whiskers. How am I able to understand their actions? I can't normally do that when I'm in my regular self. Also, is Jayfeather _reading_ my mind? Didn't he lose his powers after the Great Battle with the Dark Forest?

Lionblaze glowers at me. Ashenfoot gets up from his (notably comfy) place and stands in between me and Lionblaze. "Let's not get cocky." Ashenfoot growls softly to Lionblaze, who flicks his tail angrily and glares at me with his golden eyes.

"Why am I suddenly able to understand you?" I blurt out. I would be excited about this. But I'm not. "And wh- how are you here?"

"Power of three." Jayfeather mews loftily. "Hollyleaf can teleport. StarClan guided me here."

Hollyleaf is still alive? And she has a power?

"What about these two?" I point at Ashenfoot and Driftpool, who both smile at me. "And Dovewing?" I question Jayfeather, glaring at him. "What about her power? Seeing and hearing really damn well, like a magical Goddess' daughter, or something?"

"Dovewing?" Lionblaze says, raising a cat-eyebrow. "She's just a regular warrior."

"No, she had a power!" I suddenly find myself yelling. "Look, right here!" I grab hold of a book and scrolling to a page I believed mentioned Dovewing's power. The Last Hope, to be exact. I shove the book in Jayfeather's face, ignoring the hiss he directed at me. "She can hear, smell, and see really far away!"

Suddenly, there's a ringing noise. A poof, and a fluffy black cat appears out of nowhere, showering my clean room with fading sparkles. "I'll take that," Hollyleaf purrs, grabbing my book and poofing away again.

"Hey!" I screech as Hollyleaf precedes to throw my perfectly good book into the trash can near my door. "I paid good money for that!"

"Oops." Hollyleaf says blankly, her piercing green eyes twinkling. Hollyleaf then precedes to somehow lift the book out of the trash can with her mind, and throws it at my face.

I can't see anything after that. And- HOLLYLEAF! STOP SHREDDING MY BOOKS IN THE PAPER SHREDDER! GAH! *shredding sounds and foul-languaged screeching follow*

 **Yeah sorry for it being a short chapter hopefully you'll forgive me yesh thanks (3**

 **April Fools!**

 **Broke the golden rule of comedy which is 'Random _does not_ equal funny'!**

 **Random fact about what's going on in my life: My school term is already over. Early. In Queensland, Australia, there has been a category 4 cyclone (named Debbie like pffft) ravaging many areas and stealing people's roofs off their houses since yesterday morning. And now, schools all over southeast Queensland have shut down due to torrential rain and flash flooding from the cyclone. And it hasn't stopped since yesterday morning. My road and pool has already flooded. School got cancelled for tomorrow, too. Uh-oh. Also, it's 10:35pm.**

 **Also: I think we're seriously going to reach 100 reviews by chapter 12. Oh. My. Ahhhh-**

 **Don't worry. This doesn't count as a real chapter for my updating schedule (3**


	12. Chapter 10

Nyello.

Sorry for that random April Fools chapter. Very random.

Note: If you like random mediocre digital drawings please check out my Deviantart! Dawnyflight . deviantart .com.

 **Flower: Heh, sorry.. ;u;**

 **Redtail1192: Hey, wait for me!**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: You're welcome ;)**

 **Princessaurora2004: I'm glad you think it's funny. :)**

 **Flame: The cyclone was pretty insane. It's all calmed down in my area, but in a few hours there's a massive river ready to break its banks at 9m high, in an area that's already flooded. It's quite scary. But, this _is_ Australia.**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Yep, it's pretty horrific. Some areas are still greatly flooded after a week.**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Pretty much. Hollyleaf's power was just randomly picked out by me. Just like the, 'Oh, Lionblaze is practically invincible unless he _wants_ to be hurt!' kind of thing.**

 **Warriorsfirestar: Thank you ;) Hollyleaf randomly having teleporting powers was just to add to the weird 'power of three' thing.**

 **Bushclaww: Hollyleaf is a murderer of books along with being a murderer of Ashfur.**

 **Chapter 10**

"You're a monster."

I stare at the brown-grey cat that stands in front of me with confusion. As I look down at the ground and see fluffy paws and not tanned, long fingers, I realise I'm in my Featherfall form, all of a sudden.

Ashenfoot lashes his tail slowly, bunches his muscles as if he were wincing, and lunges at me.

My heart skips a beat and I cry in pain as claws - Ashenfoot's claws - slash my face harder than I have felt ever before, and blood pools down my forehead where he cut a jagged wound above my right eye.

"I hope you die, you twoleg scum." He whispers menacingly in my ear, before biting into it and tearing it off. Excruciating pain crackles through my ear before I could even think properly, and I quickly shy away from my attacker.

Is Ashenfoot trying to kill me?

Why?

He cut me so deeply I'm already feeling black spots home in on the centre of my vision, and I can't see with my right eye. He tore my cat-ear off without hesitation.

My heart beats faster. But he didn't judge me when he found out! He recovered so quickly! But he-

He's pressing against me, as I lay on my back. He glares harshly into my watery-blue eyes, opens his mouth, and lowers his ashen-brown head and.. is he biting my throat?

I feel pain as his teeth pierce into the soft skin on my throat. I feel my life starting to pool out, and it feels like a stone is lodged in my now-torn throat. I struggle, and try to howl out 'Why?' but pain silences me as blood gushes out from the wound in my neck and my sight turns black, amber eyes burning into my vision.

I jolt awake, my cheeks wet and the back of my neck glistening with sweat. I frantically stare at my paws- hands, and I sigh in relief when I realise I still have an ear and I can see out of both of my brown eyes.

"Oh, hello, baby." My mum coos. She is looking out the window of my room, her fair hair ruffled. It is raining outside.

"What time is it?" I mutter, putting my hand to my forehead.

"Only seven." My mother replies, turning to look at me. Her eyes are urgent.

I shift myself so I cover the wet patch on the pillow I lay on, a result of the tears I got from the nightmare about Ashenfoot killing me. "Are you alright?"

My mum smiles. "Fine. It's just that we're getting ex-cyclone Debbie's rain now. Most of the schools in the south-eastern area have closed down today due to flooding."

"Flooding?"

Is the Clan alright? How is Whiteshadow's little kit, Darkkit? Has the Clan's camp been flooded? RiverClan.. if they're near the little creek, they'll be flooded, too.

"Yes." My mum replies, chuckling softly. "Your school got closed, too."

I stiffen. "No school today?"

My mother looks back outside, and I realise how hard it is raining. "Nope. No school today, my dear."

Then, she sighs. "I have an appointment with the physio this morning. Are you willing to visit Holly?"

"Sure!" I say quickly. I want to see if the Clan is okay. Not that I hated going to Holly's house, sure, but I'd rather visit the Clans.

"Alrighty." My mum replies tiredly, moving over to kiss me on the head. "I've packed your stuff for you. Remember, stay away from any flooding, and take your umbrella."

...

I step over a murky puddle, wincing as water splashes into my watery-grey eyes as the cool rain pounds against my tabby back.

The scenes I'm currently seeing is, admittedly, horrific.

The streets are flooded, rushing with murky, brown water. Debris is strewn around the paths and bob up and down in the floodwater. Wind lashes at my thick, fluffy fur, which is, actually, quite the opposite of fluffy in this rain.

I turn around and squint into the bushland. I can see the mud - ready for me to accidentally step in and suck in my paws in - covering the ground and the grassy areas filled up with water. It's unbelievable.

Steeling myself up and urging my paws to step forwards into the bush, I wince at the squelching I can feel and hear below my paws as I am forced to travel across the mud to reach ShadowClan.

Huh, even with this insane amount of trees and lack of light, rain still manages to get in my eyes and temporarily blind me. Just like in that dream.

"Shut up!" I hiss harshly to myself. I'm fine, Ashenfoot is fine, we're all fine.

Hopefully.

The wind starts to pick up and is now a roaring gale, whipping at my fur and making my ears and tail flap around at an annoying pace.

I glimpse a bit of the ShadowClan camp's wall. It is waving wildly in the wind, but it somehow stays together.

I poke my head in, and am shocked to see some cats still outside of their comfy dens.

"Hey, Ashenfoot, your admirer's here."

I immediately blush and bare my teeth as I pick up Ashenfoot's 'oh?' and murmurs of laughter follow. Look, I'm glad that the Clan - some of it, at least - is happy. But they shouldn't be happy by making jabs at the feelings I'm currently feeling for Ashenfoot- oh.

"You shouldn't be out here in this storm!" Ashenfoot growls, slinking out from the warriors' den and shoving me into it, surprisingly strong.

"Woah," I murmur. The den is, like, quite big. And warm. There's a few cats in here; Forestash, Fjordrunner, Strikeheart, Ashfeather, Driftpool, Lilyfrost, and Ashenfoot, and two cats I don't recognize; a black tom with grey stripes, and an old-looking brown tom. "This is a pretty nice den!"

I hear a few chuckles, and flatten my ears. "I've never been in here before."

"It's fine." Ashenfoot assures, earning even more smirks in his and my direction.

"How's the Clan going? And where are the others?" I mew, noticing a few warriors weren't in the den. I hope Darkkit is okay.. what about Ivystar? Willowfall and Stormpaw?

"Not enough room." The black tom growls. "The queens stayed in the nursery, with Stormpaw. The elders couldn't fit in here either, so they're stuck in the apprentices' den with the apprentices and Willowfall."

"And the other warriors?" I lift an eyebrow.

"In the apprentices' den, too."

I was about to question on how they're going in this rain, when Ashenfoot interrupts me, guessing what I was about to ask about.

"What Nightshadow is saying," Ashenfoot mutters quietly, "Is that every cat is safe in the dens. All fine. And yes," I glare at him boredly. "Darkkit is alright."

"Thanks, you mouse-brain." I roll my eyes, suddenly aware of my appearance, which was probably sodden and bore muddy paws.

"There's not enough room in here." Driftpool complains, Strikeheart and Fjordrunner nodding in agreement. "Someone is going to have to go to the elders' den, or something."

"That den is leaking," Lilyfrost reasoned. "There's a pool of water in the middle. It'd be too uncomfortable."

Driftpool growls, her blue eyes betraying boredom. "What about the-"

"It's fine." Ashfeather chirps, his dusty-brown fur appearing to be a little bot sodden; probably from playing in the rain, I'd guess. "Featherfall can stay here. We need more warmth."

Fjordrunner snorts. "I'm not sure if she's actually warm-"

"It's warm enough as it is." Forestash growls softly, glaring at Fjordrunner in that way a kind, shy person looks at an annoying 'rebel' kid at school when they start to disturb the class. I smile very faintly.

"So," I try and make up a bit of small-talk, however much I hate it. "How do you think RiverClan is going?"

"They've moved to higher-"

"Everyone, get out of the dens!"

Ivystar's shielded voice cuts off the old brown tom that I think was an elder, and sounds of splashing follow her call.

"The camp is getting flooded! Quick, before you get stuck in the dens!" Ivystar repeats, making my heart race. Oh, God. The floods have reached here? RiverClan's definitely toast now. Soggy toast.

Grumbles and murmurs follow the secretive leader's yowl, and we all slip out of the den, water immediately splashing at our paws and hitting our legs. I gaze out at the camp, and can comfirm it has a three-centimetre-high layer of cloudy brown water covering the ground below our paws.

"What in StarClan?" Driftpool raises her voice irritably over the pounding rain. "If I wanted this much water, I'd have gone to RiverClan!"

All the cats seem to be out of the dens now, and my heart leaps when I see Darkkit in the queen Whiteshadow's firm jaws. Sorry, I think she's downright adorable as hell.

"Get to higher ground!" Ivystar calls as I watch Reedfrost beckoning the elders and queens to move out of the den entrances.

A tail touches my shoulder, and I gasp. Ashenfoot stands there, his eyes hard, and I flatten my ears. He's not the cat in my dream, I tell myself.

"Come on." He mews. I nod, my eyes closed and my head lifted to the dark, cloudy sky.

"Come on, we're going now! Leave the prey!" Ivystar yowls commandingly, reminding me of my empty stomach. I didn't have breakfast, and I haven't eaten any prey ever since I tried that dreaded noisy miner bird. Yes, I pretty much starve myself whenever I'm in ShadowClan. Uh, yeah, I'd rather eat my food without its dead, blank eyes staring at me as I bite into it.

"Hey, Ivystar.." I mew hesitantly to the grey she-cat as we exit the camp. Her paws are caked with mud, as if she hadn't been staying inside the dens recently.

"Featherfall?" Ivystar replies, looking at me in surprise with her deep-green eyes and quickly blinking it away. I narrow my eyes. Does she always need to hide her emotions, or something? "What are you doing here? Aren't your.. parents.. still out there?"

"They've settled down in an abandoned den." I lie coolly. "They're currently resting."

Ivystar blinks. "I'd hate it for any cat to be in trouble."

I smirk. "Even if they're WindClan?" I inquire. Surely Ivystar isn't that soft.

Ivystar's fur raises slightly, as if she was reminded of a memory she wanted to push away from her mind but would came back every time. "Yes, I suppose. Maybe the queens, elders, and kits."

The Clan has left the camp now, and it's a blurry speck in the distance. The rain's scent is strange, mingling with the strange smell of cats and the damp undergrowth of leaf-mulch and eucalyptus bark.

The shadows have pretty much dissipated, and the trees have thinned out. Rainwater drips from the trees' leaves and dab my back with cold, fresh water.

The Clan has excited ShadowClan territory! And I don't know where we are!

We're in a field, and it's filled up pretty high with water in the lower parts. Is this WindClan? I scan the area in front of me, and I see the little creek that cuts in the corner of the field. Actually, I think this is-

"RiverClan territory!"

Yes, Ashfeather, I had _hoped_ it was RiverClan territory. I roll my eyes, which was kinda hard as rain splashed into my eyes like no tomorrow, which hurt quite a bit.

If this is RiverClan's territory, and WindClan's is on this field, too, I feel sorry for RiverClan.

Ashenfoot suddenly growls and crouches to the ground. "Prey!" He whispered. Before I could say anything, he dashes towards the raging, flooded river, murky water splashing behind him.

I can see a rabbit near the river. Why? I don't know. Maybe its tunnel flooded or something.

I watch Ashenfoot as he attempts to stop on the slippery, flooded grass, and my heart skips a beat as he doesn't stop and falls into the river, his dark-brown paws flailing and soft grey-brown head attempting to stay out of the water.

I can't move, and my eyes are wide. The river is dragging Ashenfoot along the water, away to who knows where.

This can't be happening.

"Ashenfoot!"

 **both of my stories are starting to just be full of cliffhangers.**

 **This chapter is based after the cyclone my state recently recieved! Floods and rain! Wind and.. ..stolen roofs..**

 **Tfw when you want to kill some cats but you're worried you might offend the cat's creator.**

 **Review? :)**


	13. Chapter 11

Heyaa

 **105 reviews. 100! DING DING DING! WOOOOOO**

 **Thank you all so much aa wjnvershlivwdewdq**

Sorry for the late (and short) chapter. I had a smidge of writer's block and I was away for a few days, and I spent those days writing my other story (River's Shadow)'s chapter 20. I also spent all of yesterday reading the newest AVOS book, which is by far my favourite of the series!

* * *

 ****spoilers!**** I have been wanting SkyClan to return from the very beginning of their introduction! I love Hawkwing! My theories of Twig/Violet being HawkxPebble's kits are true! And Blossomfall x Thornclaw is real? And there's finally a litter of 4 kits? AH ****end of spoilers!***

* * *

But, here we are!

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Hahaa.. I still don't want to offend anybody if I ask if I can kill off their cat! And, yes, I think the nightmare was a bit gruesome..**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Thank you! Though I think too many cliffhangers will be a little boring. I'll try and stop them, since sometimes I need to depend on them so I can finish the chapter.**

 **RandomWarriorThatLikesStuff: Haha, yeah.. stolen roofs. I meant to make it sound sad yet kinda funny ;)**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Quite so! I just don't want to spam cliff-hangers, though I'm expecting this story to last around 10 more chapters, so cliff-hangers halfway through the story I guess is decent. AshenxFeather is quite the ship being passed around this story.**

 **Princessaurora2004: Yep! I've got some major plans for Ashenfoot, even if he does drown ;)**

 **Flame: In Australia, we're getting around 24°C weather currently. But last summer we've gotten 40°C! The area the cyclone hit has never gotten a cyclone before, so it's very common for massive damage. I have plans for Ashenfoot and his possible death!**

 **ItsMeLillia: Haha, yeah! I wasn't planning to kill off the medicine cats.. but I just don't want to offend anyone in the process of killing off a cat!**

 **Flower: I classify as a Grammar Nazi and I got a migrane and was sent to hospital by just looking at your review. Just kidding. Also don't be mad at me if I kill Ashenfoot. Please. :,)**

 **Redtail1192: Muahahahaha! I will kill him if I want to! );D**

 **Splash of Thunder in Mist: It sure would be a twist!**

 **Kykysuperfly23: Nice guesses! Featherfall would be around the same age as Ashenfoot (I'll just say he's a new warrior) so it wouldn't be as bad as an apprentice x warrior. I'd say they're both around 14 moons old but in Feather's 'person' form she'd be going on to 14. I might just violate shippers, but I hate NeedlexAlder. I strongly dislike Needletail now ;)**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Muahaha ):D will Ashenfoot stay alive? Tune in for the next chaper! Dawny, out!**

 **Opal: Thank you!**

 **Chapter 11**

My vision is blurry, and my head spins. Rain pounds against my ears and splash at my legs.

"Ashenfoot!" I shriek again, watching as the remains of his grey-brown fur drift down into the raging river. His dark-brown paws lash around, but those are the only part of him that is above the water.

"Featherfall?" Ivystar mews, stopping and turning to me in surprise. "Are you alright?"

The Clan mutters annoyed words, oblivious to what was currently happening in front my eyes.

"Ashenfoot!" I repeat frantically, "He's fallen into the river! He's drowning!"

Driftpool looks at me with such shock in her eyes that it's like I'm looking into a mirror of my own emotion. She turns in the direction I am looking at, at Ashenfoot, and her mouth opens wide.

"No." She whispers, before sprinting over to the river. A few cats open their mouths to tell her to stop before she falls in, too, before she stops in time before the was too close. She reaches into the water with a grey forepaw, towards Ashenfoot.

"Try and hold on!" She shrieked so loud that I could hear it loud and clearly from here.

Suddenly, the Clan exchanges worried murmurs. They've realised this wasn't a simple accident that can be fixed. Ashenfoot is well and truly drowning.

Driftpool, who was frantically shifting along the riverbank, is reaching so far into the water that her paw is submerged, close to Ashenfoot's steadily-sinking paws.

I turn to the Clan. "Somebody else help her!"

When no cat shifts in their places, I make my move. Bunching my muscles and dashing towards Driftpool, I scrabble on the slippery grass, and flex my claws into the ground.

I can't see Ashenfoot's head anymore, and I clench my teeth in an attempt to stop my wail.

Driftpool's grey legs tremble and she lets out a sound that seemed like a mix between a shriek and a wail. Her blue eyes flick across the brownish water desperately, and she turns to the Clan that stands at the hill closest to us.

"He's gone!" She yells, lashing her tail. "Ashenfoot is gone!"

"No, he's not." The voice coming out of my mouth doesn't seem like mine. "He's still in there, somewhere."

Without hesitation, I leap into the river, my watery-grey eyes screwed tight.

I hear a muffled cry or two as I plunge into the water, but I ignore them. Water fills my ears, and I attempt to keep my mouth and eyes shut.

I lash around in the water with my paws, as if I was trying to feel Ashenfoot's body in the water to pull him out. But I can't breathe or see anything, and I cannot open my mouth otherwise I will most likely.. drown.

I lash my paws again blindly, the rushing river slowing my movements and pulling me down onto the riverbed. I feel debris pierce my heavy, uncomfortable fur, and I suddenly realise something; I need to breathe, otherwise I'll drown.

My heart beats faster with panic as I blankly forget which way is up and which way is down in the water. Suddenly, my head breaks from the water and I take a gulp of air, but I sink back down right after, tumbling over in the water.

Feeling my limbs steadily weaken and my mouth and eyes slowly urge myself to open them, to breathe and see again, I let out a slight breath and let myself still.

It's calming, to relax while you're drowning. Like a cradle. But it's still painful.

 _No!_

I force myself to open my mouth a little bit to let out a breath of air. Wherever that breath goes I will follow it.

Up! I feel it going up!

I kick my legs as hard as I could, propelling myself up to the surface. My lungs sting and I let out a cry, instantly panicking as disgusting water fills my mouth. My legs keep on kicking.

Hearing a faint thundering noise, louder than the roaring I can hear already, I silently wonder what it is, bit still kick in the water, up, up to the surface.

I can see light shining through my closed eyelids. Give myself one last heave, and my head breaks above the water, it smashing against my head but letting my muzzle take in a deep breath.

The thundering sound is really loud now. I open my eyes, murky water streaming into them and rain hitting my face hard as hail, and my heart skips a beat.

I gaze around frantically and spot the ShadowClan group in the distance, to the side of me. They are all looking across the river, as if looking for me or Ashenfoot. I think I can see a grey shape standing with them, and guess it is Driftpool. I turn back around, looking for a branch that I could possibly cling onto.

Suddenly, something massive slams into the back of my head, and I let out a cry. I feel myself being pushed, being pushed away from the Clan and down the river. That thundering sound was a gigantic wave. And it's carrying me away.

Something flashes at the back of my mind. Ashenfoot! Where is he?

The wave slams me down back into the water, still forcing me along, and remembering the days were I used to surf, I try and kick down to the bottom, my paws again strong and determined.

I feel the wave's underwater force roll over my back, and after painstakingly waiting for it to dissipate, I push myself back up to the surface, now determined and ready to get a breath of air.

Gulping in another breath and shaking water off my head as I open my eyes, I am left struggling against the current.

My heart thuds in my chest as I see a scrap of brownish-grey fur. Ashenfoot?

I kick with the current, it tugging me along and pushing me towards the fur.

Then, the ashen-brown fur sinks down, and I let out a cry.

Letting out a sorrowful sigh, I let myself sink into the river, willing the water to drag me somewhere. Anywhere. Anywhere Ashenfoot may end up, dead or alive.

Rain pounds against my ears as I drift down, and I let myself relax.

 **whoops story's ending early sorry guys i killed featherfall**

 **kidding**

 **I probably killed off Ashenfoot tho**

 **I promise there will not be as many cliffhangers ;)**

 **Fav and review! ;D**


	14. Chapter 12

Heyyyyooo

Sorry, this is a short chapter.. but I promise I'll write a really long one for 13! And I went camping for a few days so I couldn't upload. But, I'm back at school, so I'll be able to write faster!

If you want a more serious Warriors story, I've been writing another story called River's Shadow! It would be awesome if you could check it out ;)

15 reviews. Dude, this made my day.

 **RandomWarriorThatLikesStuff: WHhhoooo? Probably Ashenfoot.**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Hehe.. ;) but what's the point in killing the main character so early?**

 **Princessaurora2003: I'd say their bond was growing, though they didn't know each other for that long.**

 **Redtail1192: Muahahahah! I care about no feelings!**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Yeah! I guessed it when the Hawkwing's Journey came out, and the revelation made me really happy!**

 **Bushclaww: Featherfall's? ;)**

 **Flame: But killing off important characters is fu-un :( though I'll be killing of tons of unneeded cats in River's Shadow soon.**

 **Catgirl2900: But, she was drowning last time! I'm not sure if she'd be able to survive becoming a twoleg while drowning.**

 **SpiritedSilver: Well, your teacher probably thinks that all Aussies are the 'g'day m8 stereotype ;) since I haven't said 'mate' to anyone in ages. Let's just say we're laid back and stuff and tend to tease and call each other stuff like 'idiots' in fun. And you barely see any deadly snakes or spiders where I live. Don't know what stuff you'd want to know about so I'm just saying some random stuff ;)**

 **Flower: Yeah, I had a few doubts about Violetpaw. But she has the exact same amber eyes as Hawkwing, soo..**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Hopefully there isn't as many cliffhangers soon. I wonder what would happen if Featherfall drowned ;)**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Yeah! I had shipped it when it was first mentioned, but I later thought it was because of the Dark Forest. But noo! Litter of 4 kits! I.. admittedly.. forgot Purdy died.**

 **Willowclaw: Let's see about that!**

 **Chapter 12**

I let myself fall limp in the rushing water, contrary to the thing I am currently dealing with. Drowning.

My head hurts. My lungs sting like fire, but I'm starting to get used to it now. I move my paws slowly in the water, feeling the movements turned sluggish in the murky liquid.

Is Ashenfoot alive? Probably not, now. He probably drowned. Surely if he was still conscious he would be alive, but if that scrap of fur was him, he was definitely unconscious. My heart aches as I think about him again. I haven't known him for too long; but he seemed like a close friend to me already.

Something nudges against my back. I ignore it, just like the other times something hit me. But it doesn't shift from behind me after a few seconds.

I shift myself slowly in the water, my paws automatically pushing me up to the surface, however tired they were now. As my head breaks against the water's surface, I take in a gulp and wriggle away from whatever was pressing against me. My head gets taken underwater again, and I thrash around.

Suddenly, something brushes against my paws, and it wasn't the thing that was starting to irritate me. Hope bursts inside my chest, and I slowly press my paws down. It's solid ground.

I lift my head above the still-rushing river, the murky water splashing against my legs, and my legs tremble as I force myself to stand.

I'm alive! I'm really alive!

The thing pressing against me is gone now. Probably from me being dipped back underwater.

I take in deep, fast breaths as I force myself to get out of the water, and onto the shore, which was a meter away from me. I do so, and let myself collapse on the ground, water streaming from my dirty fur, giggling fearfully, yet feeling a bubble of laughter starting up inside my throat. I didn't drown!

Then, the laugh dies down. Ashenfoot.

Wait, I know Ashenfoot was probably dead. Why did I stop laughing? At least I'm still alive. I'll be able to tell the Clan he drowned, so they won't dread what happened to us.

Where is the Clan?

I scan the area with my watery-blue eyes, squinting as the rain splashes against the muddy ground below. Nothing in sight, but I ended up at a border of trees, the flooded moorland grass below me reducing to nothing but mud and leaves.

As I attempt to shake out my fur, I spot a lighter patch of mud on the shore. _Wait, that's not mud._ Before making any guesses, I scold myself for being so easily distracted.

Then, the patch moves, and I step back. "Gah!"

Regaining myself, I step over to the shape, and gasp.

"Ashenfoot!"

As I step forwards, mud squelching beneath my paws, I poke him lightly. He seems to be breathing. For now. It's very shallow, and.. is that water coming from his mouth?

I look around frantically, and slink into the trees. Feeling myself dry and in warmer clothes as I become a person again, I scoop Ashenfoot up without hesitation. Water soaks my clothes and stains them with mud as I bring him up to my chest, but I ignore it. He's still unconscious.

Where do I go? I suddenly realise something. Follow the river! I run alongside the river the opposite way I was dragged away, well away from the muddy shore, attempting to keep myself from slipping.

There's the main field! RiverClan territory!

I suddenly realise I'm not meant to be here. I quickly scan the area again, and I make my way towards ShadowClan territory, which seems smaller than before.

I haven't seen the Clan so far. Does that mean I went past them without noticing, or did they leave? I don't know anymore.

There's the abandoned bush trail! Hope sparks inside of me, and I run faster, knowing my way home now. I burst out into the street, rain soaking my hair and filling up giant puddles, and I make my way to my house.

"Geez, you're heavy." I mutter under my breath, shifting Ashenfoot as I knock on my door. My mum opens the door, and leans in to give me a hug, but stops short as she notices that I'm holding a soaking wet unconscious cat.

"Who's cat is that?" She says, making me smile and look down at Ashenfoot.

"Nobody's." I reply. "I found him next to a flooded river. He's wild, but he seems rather tame."

Before my mum can open her mouth, an incredulous look on her face, I look at her in a beg. "Can we keep him for a while?"

 **Ashenfoot's POV**

Thrashing around in the bottomless river, Ashenfoot opened his mouth in a wail, and water filled it, resulting in him choking. Feeling his limbs weaken, Ashenfoot struggled harder, until something wrapped around his legs.

Feeling it tug him down, Ashenfoot let out another cry, and ended up swallowing the disgusting water this time, his lungs stinging like fire. The light started to die from above him, and he felt himself being dragged down deeper and deeper into the water.

Ashenfoot jolted awake, warmth starting to fill his aching limbs. Strange scents met his slightly open mouth, and he quickly closed it and shook his head. It was strangely warm and soft below his paws, and he acknowledged it as he shifted around in it.

A shiver passed through Ashenfoot, and willed himself to open his amber eyes, wherever he was.

He was in a strange, square room. Unlike his den, it was cleaner, and the walls seemed hard, smooth, and coloured a pale light blue. Below his paws was a soft, plush material, and it was clean and smelt like nothing.

Ashenfoot acknowledged the warmth that filled the room comfortably, though the rain still thundered outside the strange den.

Suddenly, there was a loud stepping sound. Flicking his ear nervously, Ashenfoot looked up as he saw a figure with dark, curly brown hair move into the den, closing some strange squeaky thing and looking at him in wonder.

Lifting his back and looking at the figure, a female, threateningly, the creature bared her teeth slightly back in a strange manner. The scent following the figure, the _twoleg_ , was strangely familiar, he noted.

Then, he felt realisation flood inside of his mind, making him stiffen and stare at the twoleg in shock.

 _I'm trapped in a twoleg den!_

 **Are you guys happy now**

 **none of them died**

 **I was planning to kill Ashenfoot I'm serious**

 **but then I decided**

 **no**

 **Qotc: What will happen now? Where did Ashenfoot wake up in? (Pretty easy answer tho) Will Ashenfoot end up being a.. kittypet? :O**

 **Fav and review! :))**


	15. Chapter 13

hey what's up guys it's (scarce) dawn here

Writing spree ay

How many reviews have we gotten oMG 17 in one chapter?! I need all those for River's Shadow chapter 22 :c

I had typed down all my replies to reviews (took like what 15 minutes?) and went to put it in bold when my Safari (I use my iPad to type ;D) freezes, and when I restarted the app, it deleted all 14 of my replies. Damnit. Off to spend another 15 minutes re-typing them.

this chapter is longer than usual, but still a lil short. This mostly explains a few mini things that I think should be known later.

 **RandomWarriorThatLikesStuff: I probably worded the QOTC badly XP and I think it may just be as impossible as you claim it is!**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Thank you!**

 **Bushclaww: Please don kill me if I kill Ashenfoot :,c**

 **Firecat21870: I might!**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Thank you! Here's the next chapter that you wanted ;)**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: It's unofficial, but most, if not every, reader has already shipped FeatherxAshen. I might make it a reality.. ;)**

 **Flower: It's alright! And I could just imagine a fluffy Ashenfoot sitting down with a pink sparkly collar and an unamused look on his face.**

 **Redtail1192: I think Ashenfall is best.. especially since 'Featherfoot' doen't really roll off the tongue. But it's your decision! ;)**

 **Guest: Thank you!**

 **SpiritedSilver: Yep, quite a lot! But if Ashenfoot is staying for a while, there is a lot of explaining to do.**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Nice guess! Hopefully I'll get him back to the Clans.**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Who says only Harry Potter can kill off main characters? And also, I fixed the error! Thank you!**

 **catgirl2900: Hopefully!**

 **Willowclaw of mapleclan: Aww, thank you! And, yeah, I did estimate the story to be 10 chapters.. but now I'm guessing 20! And I may be able to buddy you on Animal Jam when I get back on.**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Ashenfoot's POV**

The twoleg bent down to pet Ashenfoot, its, her, eyes gleaming with a strange expression, and he reared back, hissing. "B-back off, twoleg!"

Before Ashenfoot can say anything else as an attempt to fend this strange creature away, the twoleg seemed to slump, and quickly left the small den, annoyance now radiating from the figure. The ashen-grey tom lashed his tail, feeling triumph yet confusion race through him, and curled into the strange-smelling soft thing that was made similar to a nest.

After a while of staring at his dark brown paws, Ashenfoot felt something trembling against him, and he growled under his breath. Shifting away from the vibrating, he sniffed, and decided to curl his tail over his nose to block out the smells that he could still scent drifting in the air.

 _I'm the one trembling!_ Ashenfoot mumbled inaudible words under his breath, and forced himself to sit up. _I'm not scared!_

Suddenly, a cat scent washed over him. A very familiar scent..

"Featherfall?" he muttered, disbelief starting to show in his amber eyes.

As if on cue, a fluffy cream tabby head appears in the sliver of the squeaky opening thing, pushing it so it opened more. The pale blue-grey eyes were tired, yet happy.

"I swear, you have, like, no memory!" she burst, rolling her eyes. "I'm a twoleg!"

Ashenfoot stiffened before feeling embarrassment flow through him. "R-right." he mewed. A memory flashed inside of his mind, of watching Featherfall somehow shift into a twoleg form and leaving him horrified, before coming up to him and suddenly confessing she wasn't a true cat. The tom shook his head to clear the strange feeling.

Featherfall sighed, her eyes flicking left to right as she turned to shove the squeaky thing back in place, enclosing the den and preventing any place to escape. "I'm glad you're alright," she started. "but the thing is, you can't exactly.. leave for a while."

The tom blinked his amber eyes at the fluffy tabby. "What do you mean?" he stared at the ground again, before looking at Featherfall, whose pelt was dirty and paws caked with rather dry mud. "what happened to you?"

"I saved you." Featherfall mewed, her voice slightly trembling. "after you fell in I jumped into the river after you. I nearly drowned."

Ashenfoot felt shame flash through him, and it must have showed in his eyes, as Featherfall softened. "It's fine." she said quickly. "I'm still breathing, am I?"

The tom nodded slowly, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. "I don't like it here." he mewed, staring around the strange den. "it feels too squashed."

"My room's not _that_ small." Featherfall complained, receiving a curious look from Ashenfoot.

"This is my house. Uh, I mean.. my den. I live here with my mother. This part of the hou- den, is my room. My bedroom, where I sleep." the cream tabby explained. Ashenfoot nodded thoughtfully as he surveyed the 'room'.

Rain crashed outside the strange 'room', through a strange clear barrier in the wall. Ashenfoot jumped at the sound, making Featherfall purr from behind him. "It's only a bit of rain." she mewed. "oh, you must be so confused about everything.." Featherfall trailed off.

"Sort of." Ashenfoot growled, shaking out his fur and then, without noticing, compared him fur to Featherfall's. "you fell in the river, too, right?" he mewed. "why am I so.. clean compared to you?"

Featherfall started to flush a little bit. "Oh, it's just that I haven't washed. And we gave you a bath."

Ashenfoot opened his jaw to ask what a 'bath' was, but Featherfall flicked her tail as if to silence him.

"You know, like, a rock? Ugh.. this is hard to explain.. it's, well, a hollowed-out rock.. but made out of a different material. You can put hot or cold water into it, and drain it after. You wash yourself with the water."

She brought a dirty paw to her head after sitting down. "Gosh," she said. "that sounds so weird now that I explain it out loud to a Clan cat."

Though he felt awkward at how fluffy and clean he seemed, compared to how he felt while he was in that river, after having a.. bath, Ashenfoot shook his head. "It's fine. I understand."

"Back to the question about why you can't leave for a while." Featherfall mewed firmly, switching her gaze from Ashenfoot to a strange, big wood thing covered with a plush piece of material, and trotting towards it. She stared at her dirty paws for a second, as of pondering something. Shrugging to herself, she bunched her muscles, and leaped on top of the wood thing. She struggled a little bit, and had to force herself up with her hind legs against the frame, but Featherfall managed to get up.

"This is my bed!" Featherfall mewed, crouching at the edge and staring down at Ashenfoot. "twolegs normally sleep on these. You sort of have beds in the Clans, but they're more like bird nests than actual beds."

Ashenfoot snorted. "What are you calling bird nests?" Emotion flashed through him as he remembered his nest in his Clan camp. _Is it flooded now? Has it been washed away?_

The shiny-furred cream tabby smirked, snapping Ashenfoot from his thoughts. "Your own nests are pretty much bird nests. Except they're _much_ softer."

Featherfall flicked her tail across the bed's soft material, half-meant to sweep off the dirt that fell off her paws, and half-meant to beckon Ashenfoot over. "You can come up here." she mewed. "since we've washed you of all that gross water and mud from when you washed up on the shore."

"I washed up on the shore?" Ashenfoot echoed, narrowing his eyes and flicking an ear thoughtfully. "that means you didn't actually haul me out."

Slumping a little bit, Featherfall blinked her round blue-grey eyes. "I know that," she whispered. "I gave up trying to swim after a while, so I nearly let myself drown."

The tom, who stood on the soft yet firm ground, stared at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Featherfall smiled again. "All good." she purred. "both of us are still breathing. That must mean something, right?"

Ashenfoot rolled his amber eyes. "You've already said that."

"I haven't explained why you can't leave!" Featherfall exclaimed. "well, let's just say I don't know where the Clan is. I've tried looking, while you were still out, but I haven't found them."

Strange scents flowed around Ashenfoot yet again, before he could take in the information, and he flattened his ears. "Why does it smell so weird around here? In this.. house?"

Featherfall frowned, as if deep in thought. "I think it's just the house's scents. I just got used to it, I suppose."

The tom flicked his tail. "How did you get up there?" he asked in shock, looking at the bed up and down.

"I jumped." Featherfall replied as if it was the easiest thing in the world. She tapped the side of the bed with her paw. "it's not that hard."

Ashenfoot narrowed his eyes and bunched his muscles in a crouch. Springing himself up onto the bed, he managed to land on it in one try. "You're right." he mewed. "not that hard." he pressed his paws into the plush material and let himself sit down on it, however awkward it seemed.

The fluffy cream she-cat lifted an eyebrow, before standing up on the bed and sliding underneath the thick fabric layered over the bed. "This smells so weird now!" she exclaimed from underneath, receiving an amused purr from Ashenfoot.

"Oh, and this is called a blanket." she popped her head out, the rest of her covered by the 'blanket'. "it keeps you warm at night. Or it makes you too hot. Either way, it's nice."

Ashenfoot blinked thoughtfully. "You twolegs are still confusing." he mewed. "would you care to explain why you ride in those vicious monsters, for example?"

Featherfall grinned. "Sure! Well, monsters are actually called cars. They aren't actually living things; twolegs built them. We- I mean, the legal adults, control the car, and we use them for transport." she finished with her lowering her head onto the bed and rolling onto her back.

"B-but," Ashenfoot started. "they _kill_ cats!" A distant memory triggered inside his mind, and he tried to shove it away.

"There are.. some rather questionable people- twolegs, who don't give two damns about what's in front of them while they are driving a car." Featherfall mewed, somewhat defensively. "and sometimes it's an accident."

"I knew a Clanmate." Ashenfoot said slowly, wincing at every word. "she was hit by a.. car. If it was an accident, why didn't the twolegs come out of the car and help her before she died?"

Featherfall saddened, her face growing dark. "I'm sorry. Sometimes we're forced to keep going, otherwise cars behind them would either hit the one in front, o-or.. sorry, I'm babbling." she stammered, before softening. "who was she?"

The tom didn't want to meet the she-cat's gaze. "Thrushpaw." he muttered. "she was my sister."

Taking in a gasp, Featherfall shot up. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I remember hearing that name when I first became a cat- I can't believe those morons would kill an innocent cat! They deserve a-"

"It's fine." Ashenfoot cut her off sharply, remembering his sister suddenly, a grey-brown she-cat with white markings and the same amber eyes. "she wasn't the kindest cat. She never played with me while we were kits. Though, she used to talk to me about leaving the Clan, a-and.. and-"

"Shh." Featherfall growled, suddenly sitting against him comfortably. "it's alright." the she-cat looked thoughtful. "Hang on." she started. "I also heard a 'Lilywhisker', but never met her."

Ashenfoot blinked at the strangely patterned blanket, feeling a shiver pass through him.

"Dead?" Featherfall whispered. "if they were.. I'm sorry again."

"You don't need to apologise for something you didn't do." Ashenfoot pressed softly. "yes, Lilywhisker did die. On a border patrol fight with RiverClan."

"Oh." Came Featherfall's reply. "at least you didn't die before I came by."

Ashenfoot felt a strange feeling pass through him. "I guess." Driftpool flashed in his mind, but he pushed it away like he had with Thrushpaw. "I'll say I'm glad you didn't drown trying to save me."

Featherfall smiled faintly, looking into his amber eyes with her round pale blue-grey ones. Her tail swept over her slightly less dirty paws, somewhat touching the tip of Ashenfoot's. "I'm glad that you didn't die, either, Ashenfoot."

 **d'aww**

 **Qotc: Well, seems that lil Ashyfoot is being held captive in Featherfall's twoleg home. What do you think would happen if Ashenfoot had to live as a kittypet under Shekeye's watchful eye?**

 **Remember to fav+review!**


	16. Chapter 14

Hey, guys!

No, I'm not dead. I had insane writer's block, and completely lost motivation in writing. So, sorry for handing out such a boring chapter.

This chapter summarised in pretty much three words: Ashenfoot tries chicken. Yep. This is pretty much what I wrote in 1.9K words.

I've been trying to improve on my grammar quite a bit, and still make errors and lose track while writing dialogue, but I hope I'm getting better.

 _**Massive thank you to Blackstorm of Thunderclan, who proofread and pointed out my errors in this chapter.**_

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Well, here it is!**

 **RandomGirlWhoLikesStuff: Hopefully he'll come back soon!**

 **Flower: I sure hope I don't wreck the ship!**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: I seemed to have misread your last review.. and yeah. If he's going to have to stay, I hope he'd be alright with it.**

 **Bushclaww: Murder? I can confirm I probably won't kill him...** **yet.**

 **Willowclaw of mapleclan: Thank you! I'd stay making a basic plot before starting up your writing, plan what happens in your chapter, and ensure your grammar is good enough to read without getting confused.**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Aww, did you? Thank you! Sorry if it seemed sad, though :(**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Hopefully he won't be a typical curious kitty and jump on the table and couch!**

 **Rowanclaw24: Oh, that part that I glossed over very quickly where her dad moved away? Yeah, it's sort of needed for the ending, and for some possible money problems throughout some of the story. I'll just say her 'cat' form is a little different to her regular 'human' form. -** **This probably sounds rather silly, but I'll say that whenever** **she is in her 'cat' form, her lifespan would decrease to one of a cat's, but when she would change back, she gets her regular human lifespan back. If she were to stay as a cat for the rest of her life, she would definitely die within around 1-2 years due to her changed lifespan. This probably didn't answer the question very well, since I'm not the biggest on things like Science. Thank you, though!**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Thank you! I hope Ashenfoot will be an absolute pro when it comes to twolegs in the future.**

 **Tawnypelt37: I don't like the sound of insane Ashenfoot...**

 **Kykysuperfly123: I'm hoping to finally write about some deaths soon. Sadly, I don't want to offend any of the people who submitted their OC's and kill them off. Yes, 'baring her teeth' would be smiling. Ashenfoot has already understood he's in Shekye's house, but he's still getting use to it. Shekye isn't exactly a person who lets things go, but she's hopefully smart enough to understand Ashenfoot wouldn't adjust properly to live as a kittypet. Thrushpaw was rather one of those headstrong cats who just feels like she didn't fit in, and I want to explain more of her personality later. I'd say Lilywhisker was Thrushpaw's mentor, and still developed a bond with Ashenfoot. Cats changing into a human while intertwining tails with Featherfall is an idea I'm still thinking about. I'm admittedly in school right now, typing up all the replies during a rather boring sugar documentary. Thank you!**

 **Chapter 14**

"What is the point of glass?!" Ashenfoot scowls, looking at the transparent film in the wall of my bedroom with frustrated amber eyes. "That bird just flew straight at it! I could have had a good meal out of that!"

I smirk at the tom, flicking my feathery tail. "So, you'd like bugs and stuff to fly in at night because there's a giant hole in the wall? Glass is useful."

Ashenfoot scowls again as he places a dark brown paw onto the window. "Good point, I guess. How long has it been raining?"

"A few days," I reply, now narrowing my watery grey eyes at the window as well. "You've barely even spent a day here. I'm expecting you to stay here for a week or so."

"What's a week?"

"Oh my gosh," I groan, going on with yet another explanation. I've already explained what a chair was, a window was, a door... cats are _way_ too curious sometimes. "A week is seven days. Each day has a name, too."

Ashenfoot's ears prick up with interest. "Tell me," he says. I throw a deadpanned look in his direction.

"Lessee," I mutter, staring at my paws. "We have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday."

"They all end in 'day',"

"I had no idea," I roll my eyes. "Why do you need to know all this stuff?"

Ashenfoot leaps off my bed and lays down in his own one made of a square pillow. "It's just fun to learn what you weird twolegs make," he mewed, slumping onto the pillow with a sigh. "I'm hungry."

A grin tugs at the ends of my mouth. "You are going to love what we got for you," I say, trotting to my door and walking out, leaving Ashenfoot to ponder what the heck I was talking about.

...

"All this money for a wild cat," my mum mutters as she picks up a bag containing a whole chicken. "At least Woolworths is cheap." she says as she examines the price.

"I thought of a name for him," I say, smiling. "I think Ash is a good name." _How smart am I?_

"Cute," my mum remarks, putting the hot chicken into the trolley. "We can't keep him, though."

I blink, as if to look disappointed. "Yeah. He's been looking out the window quite a lot. I think he'll be staying for a week before we can let him go."

My mum frowns as she heads towards another aisle. "Luckily all three of us can eat this," she points out. "We'll be able to save money without having to get this and the cat food."

I stifle a groan. _Does she care about anything but money anymore?_ I let myself drift off as I walk beside my quiet mother, ignoring the bustling sounds of the people shopping around me and focusing on my mum's fair hair. I _hate_ going shopping.

Cold air wreathes around me as I walk absent-minded along the aisles, my eyes scanning the food. I shiver, and groan. I should have brought a jumper, with the amount of air-conditioning in here.

"Can we stop at the lolly aisle?" I ask, picturing all the stuff I could get there, but slump as my mum shakes her head.

"We don't have the time to get such things right now." she says, walking to one of the cashiers and loading the chicken and a few other small things onto the conveyor. The cashier finished it quickly with a smile, and we started to walk to the car. I grip onto the hot chicken's bag as we walk back into the autumn sun, and watch as leaves tumble along the ground in the wind.

My mum unlocks the car, and I slip into the back. "Do you think Ashe- Ash would like the chicken?" I ask my mum, and the beginning of a smile twitches at the edges of her mouth.

"Most animals like meat, right?" she says, starting up the car with a click of her keys. "I'm sure he'll like it."

I lift my eyebrows slightly. I'm pretty sure more than half of the animal kingdom consists of herbivores, but sure.

"Yeah." I say. "I think he would."

 **Ashenfoot's POV**

Twitching a dark paw impatiently, Ashenfoot flicked his tail, pressing his paws into the plush material of the pillow below him. _She's taking too long to get me food!_

The door opened suddenly, and Ashenfoot jolted up frantically, trying to make himself look more awake and alert. It was a dark-haired female twoleg, and for a second Ashenfoot drew his teeth back in a snarl, before the twoleg let out a somewhat amused sound and knelt down. The tom forced himself to calm down as he reminded himself who it was. _It's only Featherfall._

Twoleg-Featherfall had a peculiar, flat white thing in her strange, long paws. It was round, and held something delicious-smelling on it. Ashenfoot sniffed it from a distance warily, narrowing his eyes and turning his head in question. "What is that?" he mewed slowly, though he knew twoleg-Featherfall couldn't understand him.

She made a cooing sound, and looked at Ashenfoot expectedly. She placed the round thing onto the ground, and Ashenfoot could now see it was some kind of pale meat, without any fur or other things on it. Twoleg-Featherfall nudged the flat thing and gazed at Ashenfoot again.

When Ashenfoot looked at it suspiciously, twoleg-Featherfall seemed to slump and pinched a large piece of meat in a paw. She brought it towards Ashenfoot, who reared back, and narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't look that good," he started, before hearing his stomach rumble.

Suddenly, twoleg-Featherfall brought a paw to her face, and she dropped the piece of meat. Ashenfoot looked at her in surprise, before she stood up on her legs and stared at Ashenfoot with a strange gaze. She looked at him warningly, before closing the door as she walked through it.

Shrugging to himself, Ashenfoot cocked his head to one side as he approached the piece of pale meat. It seemed warm, and smelt even more delicious than he had first thought. Sniffing it again, he felt his mouth water. _It_ is _food!_

Slowly, he bent his head and picked the piece up in his jaws. Chewing on it, his eyes widened as sweet tastes meet his tongue. _This reminds me of thrush!_

He looked up at the flat thing that had a load of the meat on it. Ashenfoot blinked at it hungrily, but pondered on whether or not he could eat it.

 _Featherfall put it down for me, right? Surely she got it for me. She had said before she would be getting food for me..._

Licking his lips, Ashenfoot bit down into one of the pieces. It was definitely warmer than usual prey, and it was stringy.

"Aha! So you did try the chicken!"

Ashenfoot jolted up from his meal, as cat-Featherfall grinned at him. "It's called chicken," she mewed. "It's, like, a kind of bird. Really good, isn't it?"

The tom nodded slowly. "It tastes a bit strange," he mumbled behind a mouthful. "And it doesn't have any feathers on it, or any bones."

"It's cooked and already prepared!" Featherfall laughed. "Oh, twolegs get sick when they eat raw stuff." before Ashenfoot could shoot her a confused look, she rolled her eyes. "Raw meat is just like freshly caught.. prey. And we usually put it in an oven, or something, and it cooks the meat. So, like, we sort of use the heat of a fire to make it... well, heated, so all of the bad stuff we can't eat is gone."

Ashenfoot cocked his head to one side again. "Alright," he said. "Do you want to do anything? Or can you let me explore?"

"Outside?" Featherfall replied, screwing her face up in a thoughtful matter. "Hmm. It's still pretty wet out there." she said as she gazed outside. How would you know? You can't see too far out there! Ashenfoot thought.

"But I want to catch prey!" Ashenfoot complained, looking out the window. "Just eating twoleg stuff doesn't seem right."

The cream tabby frowned. "I'm not sure if my mum would let you." she mewed. "You're still getting better." her tabby tail flicked.

Staring at his dark-brown paws, Ashenfoot rolled his amber eyes. "From what?" he scowled. "Being a little wet?"

Featherfall looked at him in a deadpan. "You nearly drowned."

"Y-yeah? And?"

Featherfall gritted her teeth, her blue-grey eyes suddenly flashing. "Fine! I'll take you outside!"

...

Ashenfoot bounced in twoleg-Featherfall's paws as she held him close to her chest. Water splashed underneath her legs when she walked into puddles, and Ashenfoot shied away from the droplets.

Twoleg-Featherfall muttered a few strange words in his direction as she walked along a long narrow Thunderpath with twoleg houses, what Featherfall called a 'street'. Ashenfoot wrinkled his nose at the scents that swirled around him, usually foul or sickly-sweet. _How can she stand it here?_

Suddenly, twoleg-Featherfall stopped abruptly, and narrowed her brown eyes as she scanned the area around her. She let out a humming noise, and turned to the side. The cat in her paws opened his amber eyes wide with excitement. _It's the forest!_

He shuffled in her grip, and twoleg-Featherfall growled. She pressed one of his brown paws tightly, as if to still him, but he kept on purring. "Take me to camp!" he let out a purr, before stopping quickly and feeling a strange sensation in his chest. _It's probably flooded, now._

Soon, twoleg-Featherfall stepped into the forest. Ashenfoot wriggled in her hold, flicking his tail in excitement, his eyes flicking around and taking in the slightly-familiar sight. After a while, Ashenfoot got impatient, but twoleg-Featherfall slowly went to put him down.

Bunching his muscles, Ashenfoot leapt onto the ground, feeling joy prickle his paws. "I'm home!" he crowed, stepping towards a tree-trunk and sniffing it carefully.

Twoleg-Featherfall looked on with a queer expression, and she soon scanned the ground, most likely for a dry spot. Sitting against a tree, she blinked at him as if to give Ashenfoot permission to run around. Though he felt a bit mutinous with her somewhat commanding ownership, Ashenfoot let himself slink into the trees.

A path! He thought as he found a strangely familiar trail through the spindly grass. Sniffing it, he brightened with a thought dawning upon him. _I'm nearly at camp!_

Suddenly remembering where he was, Ashenfoot sped up his pace, his tail streaming behind him, and he stopped at a broken-down wall of ivy. Looking at it up and down in confusion, realisation slowly spread through him.

 _This is the camp!_ Ashenfoot blinked his amber eyes in shock, as he slunk into one of the holes that led inside.

The ground beneath his paws was muddy, and the dens were either destroyed or somewhat misshapen. Ashenfoot trotted towards the apprentices' den, where Featherfall slept one night, and the ivy had fallen inside the ditch. Trees rustled quietly above him, quieter than before.

 _The camp is wrecked,_ he throught, feeling sadness flow through him as his legs started to tremble.

"I'm sorry."

Cat-Featherfall suddenly pressed against him, the tabby's pelt still a bit dusty, and he stiffened, making Featherfall sigh softly. "I should have told you before what happened here."

Ashenfoot swallowed the stone in his throat. "It's fine," he choked out. "I just wanted to see my Clan again."

 **Nooo don't cry Ashy it's okay we'll find your Clan**

 **You see how boring this chapter was, though? Sorry.**

 **Qotc: Where do you think the Clan is right now?**

 **Qotc2: If Featherfall/Shekye found out how to change other cats/people into the other, how do you think she would be able to do that?**

 **Fav and review! :) Thank you for 150 reviews!**


	17. Chapter 15

I am SO sorry...

I had lost every single scrap of motivation to write this. I had a pretty bad day last week, which totally affected the flow (even more than before) of my writing.

Don't ask why this is so late.. I just wrote so slowly I usually just gave up. Though, I finally pushed through it, and this is the result.

Do not expect this happen next chapter. I promise that I'll write faster, now I overcame the block. I'm all happy now! :D?

But, lookit this! A chapter! 2K words!

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Awe, thank you!**

 **Bushclaww: Just wanted to get the random chicken thing out of the way! Hopefully he'll find the Clan again :)**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Nice guesses! And thank you for the OC!**

 **Featherfrost of Stormclan: Thank you!**

 **Flower: Yeah, it would be an awesome power! And, I wonder if they actually care about Featherfall..**

 **Queenyisthebestmedicen: Thank you! Oops, I didn't mean to make anyone confused about who's who!**

 **Willowclaw of mapleclan: You're welcome! Ooh.. I love steak, so I wonder how Ashenfoot would react to it! And, to be honest.. I have never tried brussell sprouts.**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Thank you!**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Yeah, I was thinking about that! I think that it should occur only when Featherfall is changing too; so it's pretty much giving consent. Thank you for your help :)**

 **Kykysuperfly123: Ooh, I would have hated for ShadowClan to have a new camp, as I had designed one beforehand and loved it. Bunking with another Clan might be a possibility. Yes; when Featherfall told Ashenfoot she'd tak him outside, it skipped a few minutes of just plain walking.**

 **\- Featherfall didn't want Ashenfoot to go outside for a few reasons: he might get lost, or he would discover his Clan hadn't returned. I'm guessing Shekye may die as a person, as I have a feeling if she was on the very verge of death as Featherfall (and wasn't willing to give up) she would change into a human.**

Thank you, Blackstorm of Thunderclan, for proofreading and fixing the mountain of errors in the chapter for me.

 **Chapter 15**

 **DRIFTPOOL'S POV**

"Come on, Driftpool,"

Driftpool glared in the direction of the newly-named Amberblaze and Vixenheart, the light ginger she-cat, Amberblaze, pressing against her. "What do you want me to do now?" Driftpool snapped.

Amberblaze blinked. "Reedfrost wants you to... err... go hunting." she mewed. Driftpool suppressed a growl as she got up from her spot, leaves clinging to her grey pelt.

"Again?" she growled in exasperation, grimacing at the mud caking her paws. "Is that the only thing I can do around here anymore?"

Amberblaze rolled her amber eyes slightly. "Driftpool," she started. "It's not the _only_ thing you can do. But, we need to thank ThunderClan _somehow_."

"ThunderClan," Driftpool spat, lashing her black-tipped tail as a drop of water splashed on her head from a trailing leaf. "Not a single bad bone in their bodies."

Vixenheart let out a groan, her green eyes displaying annoyance. "Look. I know you're acting like this because of Ashenfoot-"

"Ashenfoot drowned!" Driftpool cut Vixenheart off with a snarl. "So did Featherfall!"

Vixenheart narrowed her eyes again, this time in a bored way. "I know. Every ShadowClan cat saw him and Featherfall die."

The grey she-cat stared at Vixenheart with a horrified gaze. "They drowned!" she shrieked. "You can't just shrug that off like a piece of moss!"

The fox-coloured warrior shrugged, mumbling things under her breath. "It's a part of life," she mewed. "And, besides, none of us really knew Featherfall."

"Hey, come on Driftpool," a white ShadowClan elder by the name of Snowice nudged Driftpool before she could reply sharply. "Can you at least hunt for the kits?" she nodded at Whiteshadow and Darkkit, the tiny black kit's mouth wide as she begged Whiteshadow for some milk. Dreamshade, a grey she-cat with amber eyes, groomed her own mud covered kits.

Driftpool growled as she gritted her teeth, the urge to snap starting to return in her chest. "...fine..."

 **FEATHERFALL'S POV**

"Find anything?" I mew, looking in Ashenfoot's direction as he bends to sniff at a gum tree trunk near the ShadowClan camp. We're looking for any traces of ShadowClan left to try and bring them back, with no luck.

Ashenfoot lifts his grey-brown head with a huff. "Nope," he mews. "No fresh trace of them anywhere."

I restrain myself from growling as I slink towards a small bush to scent for anything. I've seen these bushes around my school before, but I'm not sure how much they've been destroyed now that the storm has passed.

The gum trees around me are quiet as they rustle in the faint breeze, practically silent compared to how much their leaves were thrown around in the storm a few days ago. I sniff to myself as I trod in a murky puddle, already getting flashbacks of when I fell into the river.

Suddenly, I feel myself plunge into the water again, the water tugging at my thick, fluffy pelt and piercing through it like a frozen needle.

I let out a howl of surprise, thrashing my paws blindly, and water fills my mouth, tasteless and unforgiving. My heart thunders, like I had just finished a race.

Then, the current drags me down to the riverbed, tumbling me wildly. Finally, the force of the current let me go, my limbs still.

A nudge pulls me back into the real world, and I stumble against Ashenfoot's fur.

"Are you alright?" Ashenfoot growls, bewilderment edging his tone. Worry flashes in his amber eyes, and I nod my head to assure him.

"No- I mean- forget it. Yeah. I'm perfectly fine, Ashenfoot. It's not like I just had a nightmare while still standing on my feet."

Ashenfoot narrows his clouded orange eyes. "A nightmare?" he echoes. "How would you be able to ha- oh," he notices the brackish puddle enveloping our front paws. He lifts a dark brown paw in disgust, and I step back, wincing.

"Ha," I say, shifting my head back and forth to push the memory away. "Well, that just happened." Shaking my tabby forepaw to flick off any water, I flick Ashenfoot on the shoulder before slinking away in silence, sniffing for ShadowClan yet again.

After a while, I finally give up. "I'd say they're all dead," I say sarcastically, bewildered at getting no fresh scent.

Ashenfoot didn't detect my sarcasm. "W-what?!" he choked out. "Featherfall, you can't be serious!"

"I'm not," I roll my watery-grey eyes. "Just wanted to brighten the mood."

"I can see that did the opposite of what you wanted."

I sense an edge of boredom in Ashenfoot's tone. "Duh," I say dryly, flicking my feathery tabby tail over my paws.

"Anyway," Ashenfoot mews quickly, getting up to stretch his limbs. "We should head back to your house, since-"

Ashenfoot's remark is cut off when a cry, not his own, echoes out from behind us. My head lifts in surprise, and Ashenfoot lets out a shocked yowl as he is shoved onto the ground with a thud. A pale cream tabby with sleek fur swipes at Ashenfoot's face, claws unsheathed, and I couldn't hold in my gasp.

Heart skipping a beat, a strange scent of mud and water washes over me, and my paws stay stubbornly in place as I force myself to remove the memory of the river out of my mind yet again. Ashenfoot growls warningly to the attacker, snapping me back to reality, and, the air thick with cat-scent, is now slowly tinging with blood.

Then, I too get shoved to the ground. Pain laces through my scarred cheek, and I cry out in surprise as the scar opens again. The creature that shoved me to the ground forces their muzzle into my face, and I shy away. It is a red-brown tom, with piercing green eyes.

I swipe a paw, struggling to unsheathe my claws, in the tom's face, and he crouches to dodge. Bunching my muscles, I lunge at the tom, and knock him to the ground. He too has the muddy, wet scent, yet his fur is dry, and I scrape my claws across his stomach.

He struggles, and I feel legs force into my own belly, winding me and flinging me away. Ouch, that's gotta hurt. I look up, breathless, and wheeze as the tom advances towards me. He grabs my scruff, and I wince, expecting pain, and the tom shakes me side to side.

What the _hell_? What is that cat doing? I kick and bite blindly, hoping to meet a limb or strike something hard, and the tom finally lets go.

There was a gasp from Ashenfoot. "You're RiverClan, right?"

The tom stiffens and whips his head around to look at Ashenfoot in bewilderment. "Yes," he mews. "And why are you trundling around on ShadowClan territory?"

"I could ask you the same question," I half-wheeze dryly, glaring at the tom as I stand up and shake my fur out. My cheek wound stings, and a faint trail of blood trickles from it. These idiots are _RiverClan_? That explains their weird scent, but why are they on ShadowClan territory?

Shaking her pale cream tabby head, the RiverClan she-cat who had fought Ashenfoot mutters inaudible words under her breath. "We asked you first," she rasps, a shallow scratch on her throat. "Why are you hunting on Clan territory?"

Ashenfoot's amber eyes widen. " _Excuse_ me?" he growls. "I live here!"

 _Bad wording_ , I think. "We _are_ ShadowClan," I point out. "We're looking for the rest of the Clan."

The tabby she-cat narrowed her blue eyes as she sniffed Ashenfoot's fur, the latter hissing warningly in her direction. "You don't smell like ShadowClan," she remarks. "How can we be sure you're not lying?"

I step towards the RiverClan she-cat warily, not willing to answer why we aren't scented like ShadowClan. "I'm Featherfall, and that's Ashenfoot," I nod at Ashenfoot, silently warning him to not provoke the cats with his gruffness. He catches on, and he nods.

"We can confirm we're ShadowClan. We were separated from them when the camp was flooded," my words catch in my throat. "And we fell into the river. We both n-nearly drowned, but we managed to survive."

The RiverClan red-brown tom looked a little less hesitant as he exchanged looks with the tabby. "We don't know where ShadowClan is," he growls. "And we haven't gotten anything from ThunderClan. WindClan is another story."

I blink my watery-grey eyes and stand up straight. "We answered your question, so answer ours," I growl. "Why are you on our territory?"

Shifting my tabby paws, the RiverClan cream tabby's ears prick. "Breamstar told us to look for ShadowClan, since we haven't heard from them in a while."

Ashenfoot nods slightly. "Reasonable," he mutters. "That doesn't exactly answer why you attacked us on our territory."

"We thought you were invading!" the red tom snaps. "So we wanted to drive you away!"

"Okay, okay," the RiverClan cream tabby whispers, flicking the tom on the shoulder before straightening. "Redsplash and I are sorry for attacking you," she said coolly. "But if you aren't actually ShadowClan, we'll shred your pelts next time."

With a nod, the sleek cream tabby turned around, and trotted away beside the tom, Redsplash, leaving me and Ashenfoot dumbfounded.

"Woah," was all I could say.

"That was sudden," Ashenfoot agrees.

I feel a laugh bubble up inside of my chest, despite the pit I can sense inside of my stomach, and let out an awkward giggle. Ashenfoot looks at me in confusion, and I crack a smile. "It's just so weird," I purr. "Am I, like, a bad luck charm or something?"

Ashenfoot rolls his clear amber eyes. "No," he mews. "I think you might just be the opposite."

...

"That storm was insane!" my best friend, Uriah, bursts out loud as we sit down for lunch the next day. "Our tent was torn apart!"

My other best friend, Holly, puts a hand to her light brown hair in a disappointed matter. "Why would you have a tent outside in that weather, Uri?"

Uriah looked lost for words for a second. "I- was camping in my backyard for the night?"

I snicker. "I bet my Friday and weekend was a lot more exciting than a tent tearing apart."

Holly looks at me, her hazel eyes flashing with interest. "Oh, reaaaally?" she drawls. "Please, do tell me."

"I explored the bush!" I grin, thinking about the ShadowClan territory. "And, then, I-"

"That bushland is closed off!" Holly gasps in horror. "You can get fined for walking in there!"

"Kit for kat," I brush my intelligent friend's exclamation off easily. "Anyways. I found a wild cat unconscious beside this... awesome river."

Uriah's eyebrows lift. "Don't tell me you-"

"I took him home!" I laugh. "Gave him a bath, and he's as tame as a dog!"

Holly deadpans. "You can't be serious," she says. "Wild cats are called wild for a reason."

I smirk. "They live in the wild, Hols." I flick my frizzy brown hair with a tanned hand. "Besides, he's freaking adorable." I feel kinda guilty calling Ashenfoot adorable, but what can I say? "I named him Ash. We're releasing him back where I found him, though."

"Excellent," Uriah rolls his eyes. "Now you're going to talk non-stop about it, aren't you,"

"Yep!" I say, grinning. "And _it_ is a _he_."

The two other kids let out a groan, and I smile in triumph. I always win when it comes to showing off. "I'm honestly starving," I speak up, picking up my chicken wrap. "And I really want to do Digital Technologies sooner."

I couldn't stop talking about Ashenfoot for the rest of lunch.

 **Yay!**

 **This chap is a lil less boring. Still boring.**

 **Yes, Driftpool has a black tipped tail.. it isn't an error, it's a part of her design ;)**

 **Qotc: Well, it seems as if Ashy and Feather can't find ShadowClan! Do you think Ashen/Feather will ever find them? Or,** **will _ShadowClan_ find _them_?**

 **Fav and review! :)**


	18. Chapter 16

Yo.

I managed to finish this a lot quicker than before, but last weekend was rather horrific when it came to free time. Saturday was taken because of club netball, and went to get some sewing materials for school on Sunday. Absolutely no time for writing and posting. This is why it's so late.

 **Firecat21870: That's a good idea, but I'm not sure how long they'd be willing to wait!**

 **Flower: Yep. I'm planning a few special things when it comes to finding the Clan.. and there's a chance I might commit a crime in this story. Maybe Ashenfoot will be the victim..**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Haha, yep! She tends to overreact..**

 **Tawnypelt37: Thank you! I hope I don't get a day like that any time soon.**

 **Jerome: Yep, I've fixed it now. Thanks for your PM.**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Possibly! I'm hoping for some more Driftpool soon. Thank you.**

 **catgirl2900: Twolegplace? Nah, they're (luckily) bunking in ThunderClan. Unless something happens..**

 **RandomWarriorThatLikesStuff: Thank you! I hope ShadowClan finds them, too.**

 **yourfanficmostlikelysucks: Aah, thanks! When I was younger (but still reading the Warriors series) I would gaze out at forests and wish I could live there.. I still do, sometimes. Don't let sadness get to you and stay determined in yourself! I'm glad you like this story. (3**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: I'd be worried if something ridiculous happened every other week.. I've had enough with the usual days where nothing exciting happens. Thanks!**

 **Chapter 16**

"Oh, gosh... nonono..."

I bang my head against the soft-cream wall, a (confirmed dead) miner bird laying on my bedroom carpet. Blood stains a small area around it, along with a mountain of grey feathers strewn everywhere, while Ashenfoot looks at me innocently.

"What the actual..." I look at the young grey-brown cat in utter shock. "You brought a dead bird in the house?!" I shriek. He doesn't understand me, but I think he gets the idea from my tone, based on his kicked puppy look. A soft grey feather is stuck on his nose.

"You're kidding me!" I choke out. "My mum'll kill me! And Holly's coming over soon!"

Ashenfoot bows his head guiltily. New scars streak his fur, and after my mum questioned them, I convinced her that Ashenfoot is just clumsy whenever I let him outside.

 _"You're not worried about Ash not coming back?" my mum inquires. I shake my head, staring at Ashenfoot with a hard gaze. He looks back with a clear amber one._

 _"Nah," I say, stroking his soft head with a hand. "He'll be lost, then. And I think he likes it here. Don't you, Ashy?"_

I let out an exasperated breath and move to clean the mess up.

...

"Ooh- yes! Perfect!" I crow with satisfaction as a light-bulb turns on in my head. "Ashenfoot, do you know when the next Gathering is?"

Ashenfoot nods his head. "I think I do, but I'm not sure if any Clan is considering going out in the mud and chatting with other Clan cats." he still looks guilty after bringing a dead bird in the house, and I may have given him a hard scolding about it. Poor him. He probably had no idea. Maybe I should consider telling him the rules in this household...

I peek outside my window, squinting my blue-grey eyes to keep the golden sunlight from blinding me. "I don't think it'll be very muddy." I remark. "It's pretty warm today. Soon it'll be cold enough to harden the mud anyway."

Ashenfoot rears up to place his dark brown paws on the window beside me. "I hate the cold," he growls. "Especially when you're forced to go on the dawn patrol. Freezing."

"I can never get up in the morning during winter," I agree. "But I'm not surprised you dislike it. You hate everything. Maybe I should've called you Alex instead of Ash."

"What kind of name is Alex?" Ashenfoot scowls. "And why did you call me Ash? Is a warrior name not good enough to impress your friend?" he glares at his own reflection in the glass.

I roll my eyes in a deadpan. "Alex is a cute name, unlike Ash!" I huff. "And, in the human world, Ashenfoot is one of the strangest names you could ever name a cat. Except for Tigger, Ginger, Fluffkins, Mittens, Kitty... Kitty is the worst! It's like calling a dog 'Puppy'!"

When the tom standing beside me lets out a groan, I slump onto my bed. "You're unbelievable," I say. "It's been less than four days and you still have no idea what a table is! I can rant about stupid cat names however long I want, if you don't have any clue what a piece of wood with stick legs is actually called. Cut me some slack!"

"I wasn't groaning at you," Ashenfoot snaps. "I was looking at that dog! You know? That dog the twoleg owns in the den- house next to yours? It's looking at me weirdly through that whatsitsname? Oh, fence."

"Oh, Millie?" I laugh at the realisation. "Don't worry. She won't even hurt a bird!"

"Why not a fly?"

"She hates flies."

Ashenfoot looks at me in a way that said 'are you serious'. "How would you know? She won't shut up with her ear-piercing yapping."

"I've looked after her before." I flick my feathery cream tabby tail. "She's gorgeous. Little lap dog, she is."

By the look of approach on Ashenfoot's face, I can see he doesn't believe me.

"Okay, here's why I wanted to talk to you." there is an edge of firmness as I meet the tom's amber gaze. "My best friend Holly is coming over."

"A twoleg friend?" there is a hint of curiosity in Ashenfoot's tone. "Are they nice? It would be nice if they won't strangle me."

"Her," I correct him. "And she is a hardcore animal lover. As in, she really loves animals, like cats. I told her about you yesterday during school."

Ashenfoot perks up, his grey-brown ears pricking up. "What's 'skool?'" he mews, stretching his well-muscled limbs as he settles at the end of my bed. "Is it a kind of meeting?"

Deadpanning, I flick my feathery tabby tail. "Here we go again. School," I say, turning my head to look out of the window to try and spot the tips of the school buildings from behind the trees. "It's a place kids go and learn... stuff."

"Stuff?" Ashenfoot echoes. "What kind of stuff?" he seems genuinely interested in learning all the things people do and their importance, so I simply explain to him everything he wants to know about. But when it comes to explaining school, Ashenfoot's in for quite an insightful explanation...

"Well!" I say with an edge of excitement. "School is the place where kids go to learn stuff. Wait, I've already said that. It's where you usually go for the day during the week, except for two." I pause, and stifle a chuckle.

"You learn certain things. Like... maths." I wince, and Ashenfoot frowns. Sure, hating maths is stereotypical, but I'm honestly not the biggest fan of it... especially with that teacher Mrs. Bales...

"There are usually around six or more subjects in a school day," I continue. "Oh, you probably don't know what a subject is-"

I hear a muffled human yell. I recognise the tone as my mother's and that yelling (probably) means one thing... my heart skips a beat.

"Holly's here!" I yelp. "Oh sh-" my words are cut off when I hear a door slam.

"I'lltellyoumorelaterJUSTWAIT!" there was a scrabbling of paws and I scramble for another room to change back into a person and greet Holly. Ashenfoot frowns, but I ignore him, and I dash through the door.

...

"Hiiii!" I squeak as I lean in to hug the brown-haired girl in front of me. Holly grins back, and my mum busies herself with putting my friend's small bag away and telling her to eat whatever she wants if she needs anything.

"I want to see that cat you found." Holly laughs, her green eyes bright and excited. "I want to see how adorable he is- oooohhh!" her statement was cut off with a tiny gasp. "He's so cuteeee!"

Ashenfoot had poked his head through the door leading to the living room, a bewildered expression on his face (I think I'm starting to understand cat emotions now). His amber eyes flicked from me to Holly.

I beckon to him with a hand, and he cocks his head to one side. "This is Ash," I introduce him to Holly as he approaches us slowly, and Holly crouches to pet him. Ashenfoot looks rather awkward, but I narrow my hazel eyes at him to warn him not to do anything aggressive.

"Is he really this tame?" Holly asks in surprise as Ashenfoot presses his head into her hand. "He can't be, if he was feral. What breed is he?"

"He truly is tame, if you ask me." my mum remarks as she passes us after bidding Holly's mum a farewell. "It's remarkable."

I bend down to lift Ashenfoot up, and he flicks his tail in content as I scratch one of his ears (I can't help it, honestly!). "I have no idea what breed he is, to be honest. We can look it up later."

I make my way to my bedroom, Holly trailing behind. I bounce onto my bed, letting Ashenfoot go.

"When are you planning to let him go?" Holly questions as she brings out her iPad from her bag. "Ash, I mean. He likes looking outside a lot." she points at Ashenfoot, who is peeking outside with his dark brown paws on the window.

"The bush is a little too far for him." I make up an excuse. "He always comes back, anyway. We want to release him in at least a week." I can barely restrain a frown. Will the Clan ever come back? Will Ashenfoot and I be able to be warriors ever again?

Holly shrugs, and turns on her iPad with a few clicks, distracting me from my frantic thoughts. "Wanna do Terraria and battle a few Frost Moons?" she says. "That North Pole is pretty much the hardest thing to obtain from this damn event."

I grin. "Heck yeah," I reply. I move into a more comfortable position, and Ashenfoot sits beside me. "Let's kill some Ice Queens and Santa-NK1s!"

...

"Goshdamnit," Holly complains, her head banging against the wall as she leans against it. "Two Blizzard Staffs but not the North Pole."

Pressing onto a button on my iPad, I softly fling it onto the ground. "Yeah. I give up. Does Ashy wanna play?" I add as Ashenfoot presses his head against my side and flicks his tail. He looks at me with wide amber eyes, like he wants me to do something with him.

"I'll see if I have any extra toys or something that Ash could play with," I say, sensing a bit of awkwardness as I stand up and brush my shorts. "Do you want to play with him?"

Holly is stroking Ashenfoot's head again, yet his eyes are slightly narrowed in a mixture of content and annoyance and trained on me. "He does seem a little skittish," Holly agrees. "Sure. I should have brought some of Pebble's toys." (Pebble is Holly's little kitten.)

Nodding, I step towards the door. Ashenfoot springs off of my bed, and trots behind me. I exchange glances with Holly, and make my way down the hallway. Ashenfoot sniffs at certain things on our way to the small room filled with old toys, and sometimes I have to grab him to keep him from knocking anything off.

I glare at him, silently telling him to stay. Ashenfoot, again, gets the idea, but he decides to explore the stuffy, plushie-filled room.

Becoming a cat, I sprint back into the room, ensuring the door is shut before turning to Ashenfoot. "Why on earth were you glaring at me before? And why the hell were you being so affectionate with me?"

Ashenfoot makes a surprised sound, and slinks out from behind a large teddy bear. "What is this stuff?" he growls. "It smells rather weird. And I wanted to see if I could go outside!" his ears flatten. "I want to find my Clan! I want to find Driftpool, I want to see Willowfall and Stormpaw... even Fjordrunner."

A wave of nostalgia starts up in my chest. Going on hunting patrols, of battling, even exchanging arrogant looks with Driftpool or being trained by that cold white tom, Fjordrunner, even being suddenly assigned with a mentor... I haven't even been in the Clan for more than a month, but I have a longing to go back.

"I do, too." I reply softly. "But, we just have to keep looking." I put a hint of determination in my mew. "Anyways, what do you think of Holly?"

Ashenfoot stares at his dark-coloured paws. "She was kinda overwhelming at first," he mews hesitantly. "But she's nice."

I nod, flicking a cream tabby ear. "Good," I say. "You need be easy on her. She only just got a kit herself-"

"She owns a kittypet?" Ashenfoot says incredulously. "Great StarClan, that poor kit!"

Sighing, I turn to dislodge a tiny plushie from a pile. "Holly just wants to play with you, and she is being very careful," I mumble behind the mouthful of soft material. "She's even hesitant to touch you in case you get upset. So you need to play with her. You know, chase this thing around and bite it. Pretend you're actually having fun with it," I add firmly. "It's just for a little while."

Ashenfoot growls under his breath. "Whatever," he mutters. "I just don't like being touched by twolegs."

...

Holly laughs. "You took your time," she remarks as I toss her the plushie, and she fumbles around with it. "Does Ash know how to play?"

"Of course he does," I remark dryly. "What do you think he is? A guinea pig?" (I don't recall ever seeing a guinea pig play before, to be honest.)

The brown-haired girl in front of me grins as she dangles the toy in Ashenfoot's face. He looks at me weirdly for a second, before flashing a dark paw at the plush. Holly lets out a slight gasp, before laughing and letting Ashenfoot jump for it.

I smile to myself. Let them have some fun, I tell myself. Ashenfoot is definitely bored enough to give in.

I reach out for my iPad, thinking a good YouTube video or two would be satisfactory, before Holly lets out a tiny "ow".

"Oops," Holly smiles awkwardly as she looks at her hand. It is laced with a few small stripes of red on the back of her palm. "He accidentally scratched me. Didn't move my hand in time before he hit the toy." Ashenfoot's ears are flattened in guilt, but I can't restrain my shock.

"He what?!" I yelp. "Ash! Don't use your claws! Do you need a bandaid?"

"I think it would be nice," Holly laughs. "It stings. But he sure is fast. It happens with Pebble sometimes."

I glare at Ashenfoot, before walking out of the room to get something for Holly's cut. The grey-brown tom trots after me, and I let out a sigh.

"We need to talk." I snap, and Ashenfoot looks up at me, amber eyes wide. I'm taking this waaaay too far, but if he's scratching visitors for no reason he needs to be told a thing or two.

I pick him up and place him into the old toy room. I leave the room unclosed, and try to become a cat as fast as I could to tell Ashenfoot a few things before getting Holly a bandaid.

"Shekye!" came a quiet shriek as footsteps thunder behind me as I change. It was Holly's shriek. "What the hell is happening to you!?"

Pressure is applied to my shoulders. Holly's hands are lightly pressed on them, and I let out a gasp of shock.

There was a flash of pain, more painful than usual, and I collapse against my will. My mind seems hollow, my vision is black, but my thoughts are still swirling with " _Holly!_ " and " _I got caught!_ ", before I finally black out.

My eyes are droopy when I open them again. I'm a cat, but my limbs seem to be numb and my tail flicks fearfully back and forth. I shake my tabby cream head, before a flash of reddish-orange and black catches my eye. I face the lump of fur beside me, before it too opened its brilliant green eyes, the exact shade of Holly's. Another cat.

"What are you-" the cat says in Holly's voice, before its eyes focus on its paws. It lets out a choking gasp, before looking at me in shock. " _What the heck._ "

"Holly?" I say in disbelief, and its- her, green eyes light up with realisation. _That was Shekye's voice!_ she must be thinking.

"S-Shekye?" she replies slowly, and we stare at each other dumbly. Cat-Holly is a tortoiseshell with the same green eyes, with a long, thin tail and small, delicate paws, and tapering ears and muzzle.

My nose flares at a more familiar scent. Ashenfoot's head pops out of the toy room, and his eyes flick from me to cat-Holly, and his face falls when he recognises Holly's scent.

"Oh." he mews, and I silently agree with him as we both look at the bewildered tortoiseshell in front of us.

 **Hollycat!**

 **ugghhhhh schoooooollll**

 **At the time of writing this, I just finished a Japanese listening test. It was easier than I thought but I also have to finish a full-on website by this afternoon. Oh, goshhh. *edit: im ok noww :,)***

 **Random fact: That dog that I suddenly mentioned is my own tiny dog. She hates flies and will try her hardest to murder every single one to cross her path.**

 **Again, special thanks to Blackstorm of Thunderclan for proofreading and fixing my errors. (Give Ashenfoot a beer for wanting to see Fjordrunner!)**

 **QOTC: What do you think is a good name for cat-Holly?**

 **Review and favourite! :)**


	19. Chapter 17

Finally! Hi!

I will be without internet for a few days, so I'm going to have to upload this quicker than I anticipated. There will be a ton of errors, but this is satisfactory, right?

I keep on promising the chapters will come earlier, but it appears the promise is always broken.. but my school has ended, so I can finally hang around my house, homework and assessment free. Yaaaay. I'm now planning to fix up the earlier chapters of the grammar errors and past-tense stuff.

I'm obsessed with Yandere Simulator and Pokémon Showdown now :,D I may end up playing them instrad of writing.. oops.

Nearly 200 reviews.. thank you all so much.

* * *

*There is _one_ curse word in this chapter. Just a warning if you don't like  profanity. It's close to the top of the chapter. Just saying, but it will probably be the only time there's swearing.

* * *

 **Firecat21870: Haha, that's a good name! And I hope they find the Clans soon..**

 **Starrysong Summer Hype: Nice name suggestions!**

 **Redtail1192: Sadly, I don't think she can change between cat and human like Shekye.. yappy dogs are super annoying. But my puppy makes up for it with her cuteness. Leaf is actually a nice prefix!**

 **Sagepuff: Maybe.. ;)**

 **incinerator roar: Those are some good names!**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Yes :D**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Ooh, I love that name!**

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Swiftfoot's an uncommon name.. I love it!**

 **Flower: Haha, I've been planning it for a while! I love the suffix -spirit.**

 **HaveaQueenysummer: Nice guessing!**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: I'd say the pain was a 6, while the regular pain is a 3. Now that I think about it, Ashenfoot is probably too young to have alcohol. I'll give Fjordrunner's creator one instead.**

 **Guest: That's a good guess, but since Hollyleaf is canon I don't think I'm allowed to do that :(**

 **SpiritedSilver: Hey, welcome back! I like Pebbleheart, but if she were to ever face her kitten.. confusion will definitely arise. Yeah, I'm not planning her to be named Hollyleaf, though it would have been the perfect name. Thank you!**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Here it is! Late, but here! I love Hollybranch!**

Special thanks to Blackstorm of Thunderclan for proodreading this chapter!

 **Chapter 17**

Cat-Holly stares at me, her tortoiseshell face dumbfounded. Ashenfoot flattens his ears, before exchanging a look with me. Well, damn. What the heck am I supposed to do now?

"S-someone please e-explain..." Holly stammers, her emerald eyes swirling with fear as they dart between me and Ashenfoot. "Why on earth am I a cat? A-and... Shekye, is that you? Why are you a cat?!"

"I... can explain?"

Holly forces herself to stand, her tortoiseshell legs trembling, and I rush to support her as she stumbles. Her fur is sleek, and soft as down. I nudge her into a sitting position, before looking at Ashenfoot in dismay. She hasn't had the time to get used to standing cat-like, like me.

The tortoiseshell lifts her head, her tone now serious, "Please." she mews. "I would like to know what is going on. I'm not sure if I'm dreaming, but my legs and head hurt so much..."

"You're not dreaming." Ashenfoot growls gruffly as he trots towards Holly. She flinches as he sniffs her, but keeps her paws firmly in place. "I'm also wondering how Featherfall managed to make you become a cat."

He's right. I'm confused, too. It also hurt. A lot. Holly stares at me and Ashenfoot, a flash of confusion in her emerald eyes. "Featherfall? Who's- oh." she must have realized Featherfall was _me,_ her best friend who _casually_ became a talking feline.

"We need to explain some things." I mew slowly as I attempt to process what had just occurred. "Holly, you can call me Featherfall. Ash here is actually called Ashenfoot."

"You're avoiding the question!" Holly suddenly snaps as she scrambles up. She takes a few uneasy steps before facing me, and I frown at her. "You're suddenly a cat, and you're okay with that. And, look at me!" she lifts a tortoiseshell paw and glares at it. "This seems scientifically impossible! A girl into a cat? Unheard of!"

I mentally face-palm. "Okay. I can basically alter the DNA with my brain and manipulate it in a way that I randomly just get a cat's set of DNA!" I flatten my ears and refuse to meet Holly's gaze. "Actually, I'm not sure. I'm not really good at science, and-"

"You can become a fucking cat!" Holly cuts me off. "And you never told me?! Sure, I had said that being a cat would be cool before, but I swear I didn't want that to become _reality_!"

Shaking my cream tabby fur, I sit down on the cool hallway floor and flick my tail over my paws. "Language, Hols. I'm sorry." I say softly. "I thought you would have freaked out and later conclude that I was a witch."

"A witch?!" Holly says incredulously. "This _seems_ like witchcraft, but I don't think anyone could trust you with black magic!"

" _Excuse_ me." I say wryly. "And I swear I had zero idea I could become a cat until a month or two ago." Ashenfoot stares at me with clear, rich amber eyes that flash with annoyance. I didn't tell him the stuff I told Holly, I think.

The tortoiseshell sits back down, her paws still trembling. "Okay." she breathes. "So _you_ can become a cat," she nods at me. "You knew about it," Holly stares at Ashenfoot. "And you didn't tell me. Then, when you were... changing? into a cat, I somehow changed, too." she seems to be experimenting with her tail when she sighs. "And how can I change back?"

I frown. "That's something I don't know." I muse, my blue-grey eyes narrowed. "But, I think there's only one thing we can do."

Ashenfoot blinks, a blank look plastered on his face. "What is that thing?" he questions. I pause for a moment, pondering on whether or not this would sound plain idiotic.

I look at Holly with a serious gaze. "Let's teach you the basics of being a cat."

Holly seems to slump, exasperation clear on her face. "I should have expected that," she admits. "But it does seem like I should try and... act like a cat?"

The grey-brown tom beside Holly stares at me, his thoughts reflecting in his sparkling amber eyes. I meet them defiantly, assuming that he thinks the idea is stupid and that we should just focus on getting Holly back to normal. Well, he's not _wrong_ , but we might as well teach her.

"Firstly, you need to stand up without toppling over." I trot in a circle around Holly, before shoving her lightly as hesitance shines in her eyes. "It isn't that hard. Just _stand_."

Holly lets out a huff, and she forces herself up. Her figure is slight, still shaky, but her youth must make her strong enough. I prompt her to stay still, and she glares at me. _It took a lot longer for her to get used to standing compared to me,_ I note.

"Oh, hurry up!" Ashenfoot bursts out impatiently. He slinks over and nudges Holly roughly, and she lets out a squeak. I rush to her aid, my heart skipping a beat, but he continues. "I'm fed up with your weak act. Two-moon-old kits can walk better than you!"

The tortoiseshell stiffens as she recovers her balance, finally standing up straight. She whips her head around and meets Ashenfoot's narrowed eyes with offended green ones, her jaw set straight. "I have spent the first fourteen years of my life walking upright. And _you_ have been walking on all fours for your whole life. You also have the nerve to compare to what? A kitten?"

"She's right," I point out, making Ashenfoot growl at me, "she was a twoleg like me. It took a while for me to get used to walking, too." It was true. Learning to adjust to a new form is actually hard.

Holly smiles slightly. "Okay. I guess I shouldn't be too offended. And, why exactly did you scratch me before? Before this... well..." she directs her mew to Ashenfoot.

"It was an accident." Ashenfoot mutters, flattening his ears. "I'm used to catching prey with, you know, claws. And Featherfall told me to _play_ with you," spitting when he says _play_. "That worked out well."

"Don't be grumpy." I tease, flicking him on the shoulder. "Maybe that nice-guy thing wasn't working out as well as I thought. And I just got the best idea for Holly." the tortoiseshell brightens, and I continue. "Let's take you to the bushland near school!"

"That illegal place? Is that where all your other cat friends are?" Holly questions slyly. Ashenfoot stiffens, and I'm suddenly interested in staring at my tabby paws.

"Haha..." I mew slowly, unable to block out the longing in my chest from Holly's words. "Funny."

Holly frowns. "Wait. You can't be serious. You know other cats?"

The tom beside me scrunches up his muzzle scornfully. "That storm we had a while ago separated us from our group. We fell into the river and nearly drowned." I don't meet Holly's emerald gaze as I feel imaginary water flood into my mouth, choking me and scraping my throat with debris...

"Hold on a sec," Holly mews, snapping me from my thoughts, realization flooding her face. "You said you found this guy near that river." she stares at Ashenfoot. "Found, or washed up beside him?"

"Both." I confirm grimly. "Ashenfoot trailed away from the group to catch a rabbit, which wasn't on _his_ territory during the cyclone's rain," he bows his head in embarrassment. "And slipped into the river. I went after him, but I need to say... that river was far too strong. I nearly let myself go."

There was silence for a second, tension building up in the air, before Holly snapped. "You nearly let yourself _drown_?!" she yelped. "You would have gone missing! Your mum would've called the police, and they'd never find you!"

My ears burn in shame. "I was exhausted," I admit. "The camp flooded, and we all had to leave. Trying to swim against a current that carried metre-high waves is not easy." I swallow the stone in my throat.

Holly frowns, her chest heaving from the sudden shock. "Well, you were lucky enough to have washed up on the shore..." she trails off. "You could have drowned while being unconscious, if you were tired enough."

"That's what I thought would happen," I say. "I just wanted to end it." Ashenfoot stares at me, his pointed ears twitching as he listens to my words. I don't meet his rich amber eyes.

The tortoiseshell sighs. "Are we going to that forest or not? I'd rather not explore your house with your mum around."

I suddenly grin. "It's around a five minute walk," I mew. "If you run, that is. I usually go there as a person."

Holly's tail flicks excitedly, and she turns her head around to scrutinize it. "It's so hard to acknowledge I have a tail," she says to herself before nodding at me. "Let's go."

...

"So, you decided to call yourself Featherfall when you're a cat." Holly remarks as we halt at the bushland border with Ashenfoot. We managed to sneak out through my bedroom window, and we were all puffing from running as we stand at the border. "And Ash is actually Ashenfoot. The name structure seems familiar, but I can't quite grasp it."

I nod. "I just named myself Featherfall because my tail is feathery." I flick it to prove my point. "It's also strange to talk about tails when you're around someone who was also a person..."

Holly blinks her luminous green eyes. "I know, right? It's also tricky to walk. Cat bones are so differently arranged compared to human bones it feels really strange to walk and run on all fours." she stares at her paws. "And not having fingers seems terrifying."

I laugh, and Ashenfoot looks at me weirdly as if talking about fingers is weird. It is, but I don't care. I notice Holly staring into the bushland, wonder swirling in her eyes. Trotting over to her, I nudge her, and she snaps out of whatever trance she was in.

"Do you want to go in or not?" I say. Holly takes that as a challenge. A dare. She nods, taking one step closer to a gum tree on the border.

Something stops me from following. "Wait," I mew, and the tortoiseshell halts. "We need a name for you. Holly is a legitimate cat name, but it doesn't suit you. Though, your eyes could be an excuse for being called Holly."

"They're still green, right?" Holly says, thoughtfulness in her tone. I nod.

"You have a tortoiseshell coat with bright green eyes," I say. "Something like Alder, Ember, Leaf, heck, maybe even Holly, Morning-"

"Morning." Holly confirms, cutting me off. "My name is Morning." It admittedly fits her. Her eyes look like a sunrise with all the different shades, and the bright red-orange speckles look like dappled sunlight. "Do I need a suffix, like yours?"

"Something in nature?" I suggest. "Like, get named after a flower, a feather, a breeze, a pool, a leaf..."

Holly looks thoughtful for a second, and Ashenfoot trots towards a tree and sits under it, obviously getting impatient. I give him a look, and he shakes his soft, sun-dappled fur in an act of annoyance.

"Morningsky, Hollybreeze, or Morningpool?" Holly asks, as if she was asking for my approval. I frown. Those are some fitting names, though they are rather exotic.

I nod. "I like Morningsky. Ashenfoot, what do you think?" Ashenfoot jolts up and glares at me with fiery amber eyes as he stands up from his spot.

"Morningsky it is," he says gruffly. What the heck is up with his mood? What did I say to him to make him suddenly so grumpy?

I blink warmly at Holly- Morningsky. "Let's go," I say. I flick her shoulder with my tail, and I dive into the bushland with her and Ashenfoot by my side.

 **yyaaaay**

 **schoolllllll. is over.**

 **QOTC: What's your opinion on Morningsky's name? Do you have a better name for her? I've also been drawn to Hollyflame, since she's a tortoiseshell. I'm glad I didn't make her a patchy dilute black-and-orange like Aldertail from River's Shadow.**

 **Favourite and review! :)**


	20. Chapter 18

Heya, everybody.

Next time I update this, my precious holidays are over, and I have to deal with school. andI'llactuallyhavetimetowrite

199 reviews. C'mon. I was super tempted to make my first-ever fake review. Whoever reviews first gets a plushie of any Warriors character and a cookie. (No, actually, thank you all so much for the support. 199 reviews in only 18 chapters? That's insane. I never expected to get so much reviews so quickly. It makes me super happy inside.)

Also, I'm seriously the biggest idiot in the whole world. You see that cover art I made? The title says _Feathers Falling_ , not _Falling Feathers_. it has been like that for months without me, the freaking author, realising.

 **Key of Light and Darkness: Thank you! Hollyflame was a close second for me, but I definitely preferred Morningsky.**

 **TheRealOwleyes: Thanks! I didn't want two Aldertails (one is enough), so I made her appearance to be much more different. Ashenfoot may be jealous.. hmm.**

 **Flower: Yeah, I had that coming (getting a lot of names starting with Holly-), so I decided to surprise a lot of people with a different prefix. I'm looking forward to introducing Morningsky to the Clans, too!**

 **Fat Cat Fevah: Haha, maybe! Hopefully it won't last long. Thanks for your opinion on Morningsky's name!**

 **Silverdrop: I think so! It would be incredibly surprising for the both of them to have Ashenfoot as a human.. Dawn- was a prefix in mind but the names was rather similar to my username/main Warriors character so I decided against it. They're both good names, though!**

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Freak out? Oh, no.. I wouldn't like that. The Clans would drive her out, probably, thinking she was insane. Ashenfoot does seem rather grumpy around Morningsky..**

 **Starrysong Summer Hype: I hope Ashenfoot doesn't have a crush on both of them.. if they both had feelings for him, there will be quite a bit of trouble (lots of fighting?). Hollyflame was really close to making it, but I decided last-minute that it would be Morningsky.**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: Thank you!**

 **SpiritedSilver: Haha, I might just be able to answer that in this chapter! And, yeah, I did hint about whether or not the read them when she said the names were familiar.**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Thank you so much for all the help. I really liked Morningsky as a name, and hopefully it's fitting enough.**

 ** _Special thanks to Blackstorm of Thunderclan for proofreading. Not to mention, please check out his new story, " Sincerely, the REAL Warriors", it's really well written and I'm enjoying it a lot so far!_**

 **Chapter 18**

A faint breeze ruffles my cream tabby fur, carrying the crispness of an upcoming leaf-bare. A dainty-looking tortoiseshell she-cat with mesmerising emerald eyes trots beside me, her demeanour uneasy though her eyes are displaying excite and wonder, while an ashen-brown tom with dark brown paws walks a careful distance away from us, his own demeanour, well, quite the opposite of Morningsky's.

"So, this is the illegal bushland," Morningsky whispers, her nose flaring at all of the prey-scents. I distinctly remember my first reaction when being in the bush, and note that it is similar to hers, so I take it as a good sign of acceptance. "It's... actually rather beautiful." she continues, her eyes flicking from landmark to landmark (or, simply speaking, trees). I feel a flash of pride at her words.

"This is where I spend my afternoons and weekends," I say. "Prey is abundant here, though I wouldn't dream of eating anything." I shiver at the memory of eating that miner bird. Cats can't taste sweetness, and I'm apparently not the biggest fan of savoury, raw, bloody meals consisting of bird meat.

Morningsky stops in her tracks. "That's right." she mews reproachfully. "Cats eat meat. Feral cats. I wouldn't dream of letting Pebble eat a mouse. It just seems... gross." I snort at her words.

Shaking my head, I mew, "I don't eat any of the prey at all. I tried eating my first catch, and I hated it so, so much..."

"Cats can only eat meat," Morningsky points out. "Cats can't be, you know, vegan or vegetarian. If you don't eat meat when you're a cat, and you don't - or can't - eat anything else, does that mean you starve?" my heart seems to drop at her question, and I dread at the thought of answering it. I shift my paws.

"Maybe?"

Morningsky frowns, incredulity shining in her green eyes, "That's just stupid," she growls. "No wonder you're so thin under all of that fluff."

"You knew?!" I gasp, outraged. I swear to God I am _so annoyed_ right now that my best friend caught how hungry I actually was, like, instantly. "I depend on this _fluff_ to stop anyone from questioning my hatred for prey!" I glance at her hotly.

The tortoiseshell's gaze flicks to Ashenfoot, who is suspiciously observing some low-lying bushes, his ears pricking up curiously. He's listening to our stupid conversation. "Not eating all afternoon is not healthy," Morningsky hisses. "And if my theories are true about your transformation from human to cat, each afternoon should stack up." she shakes her head at me. "You could die of starvation."

"Oh, no," I say dryly. "It's not like I can change back, get some food, then eat it as a cat to avoid it. Steak could be nice."

"Like you have any raw meat around," Morningsky shoots back. "Also, I already feel stupid talking about these things that you, as a cat, probably talk about casually."

She suddenly falters, her eyes shining with fear. "You don't know how to change me back." she whispers. She looks into my eyes, her tail twitching frantically. "You can't change me back."

"I'm not sure how, either." I admit. I feel unnerved by her panic, and shift my paws as an attempt to conceal my sudden panic. If I can't change her back, her parents will start worry, my mum will feel like she's to blame for her disappearance, and everything will go wrong...

I realise Morningsky may never be human again.

...

"Try that hunting crouch again," I beckon to Morningsky as our group of three stand in a sun-dappled clearing. This clearing seems strangely familiar, like I've been here before, but I can't put my finger on it. Ashenfoot also appears to have the same feeling, but the one difference between us is that he knows where we are. And he won't tell me.

We are trying to help Morningsky to... adapt? to being a cat. Hunting's a priority. She's gotten used to running and jumping, and now we are (I am) teaching her to hunt.

"It's so _tiring!_ " Morningsky complains as she shifts her position. "My back legs hurt!"

I purr warmly at her complaining, although I sympathise with her. "You'll get used to it," I say softly as I nudge her into an easier position. "When I taught myself to do a hunting crouch, it was far more awkward than yours. Don't worry." Morningsky shakes her head, stumbling as she did so.

"Easy for you to say," she growls as she stands, envy glowing in her eyes. "You're definitely a lot stronger than me."

My gaze flicks to Ashenfoot for a second. He had grudgingly accepted to help Morningsky with her hunting crouch, but guess how much he's helped? Not much, actually. He just lays back in the sunlight and looks at us with such an unamused edge it makes me to consider the reasons why he's not enjoying himself.

"Oi, Ashy!" I lash my feather-like tail and point at Morningsky. "How's that offer to help going for you? Isn't helping _just_ a walk in the park?" I want to make him help Morningsky at least once. It was hard enough teaching myself, and Morningsky knows little to nothing about being a cat. Might as well guilt-trip or challenge him into helping us.

Ashenfoot glowers at me, his somewhat-handsome amber eyes scrutinising me. "You forced me to say I would help, and I didn't _offer_ to aid her at all. Why can't we do something interesting other than teaching a twoleg how to hunt mice?"

"You're such a grump!" Morningsky bursts out, and she strides towards the grey-brown tom and looks him in the eye. "Are all of you such jerks? All Shekye wants you to do is help me! Me, a useless girl who doesn't know what the hell they have to do to act like a feline!"

There was a glint of claws on Ashenfoot's dark brown paws, and I choke on a gasp. "I don't care who you were," Ashenfoot snaps, "but you don't have the permission to decide whether or not I help on something."

" _Woahwoahwoah_ ," I say quickly, slinking between a slightly-intimidated Morningsky and an angered Ashenfoot. "Calm down. Both of you. Morningsky, you need to get over his... mood. Ashenfoot, please, for StarClan's sake, helping is not _that_ bad. And-"

"StarClan?" Morningsky stares at me, her eyes swirling with sudden contemplation, and I step back, accidentally bumping into Ashenfoot in the process. "That word sounds so familiar. Shekye, do you know what that means? Isn't that from a book, or something...?"

I glare at Ashenfoot as I career away from him. I wanted to tell Morningsky about the Clans. I did. And, if I recall correctly, she had read the series quite a while ago...

"It's that series! Warriors!" Morningsky sits down, her eyes staring at her dainty tortoiseshell paws. She narrows them, before staring at Ashenfoot again. "I haven't read the books in years. I knew your names were familiar... oh my God."

"Heh..." I mew slowly, and shoot a worried look towards Ashenfoot. He seems indifferent to the tortoiseshell's rambling, though a little curious. "Yeah. Warriors. For some reason, they're real."

Morningsky's mouth drops slightly. "I can barely remember what happens in those books, but I do recall some certain things. Wait, so you didn't just name yourselves based on the names in the books? They're... real?!" she seems appalled.

"Of course the Clans are real!" Ashenfoot hisses. It seems like ShadowClan isn't existent now, actually. It hurts to think about the Clan now, and I don't think they are anywhere close if they're still here. "Do you think my warrior name is a joke?"

"You're a Clan cat?" Morningsky inquires. Her demeanour is calmer now, after her sudden outburst. "Huh. I should have expected it. Well, not to mention I practically forgot the whole plot of Warriors," she adds under her breath.

I nod my head. "Yes, he's a Clan cat." I mew. "And... so am I. Well, I used to be."

"Used to?" Morningsky says, dismay in her tone. "Good God, Shekye, did you kill someone?"

"Of course not!" I sit down to conceal my laughter, and Ashenfoot also lets out a choking gasp filled of amusement. "I never even got close to even dealing a dangerous hit on that deputy."

Before Morningsky could say anything else, Ashenfoot whips his head around and lashes his tail, his amber eyes flashing with hostility. I turn to look in the direction he was focused on in confusion, before he suddenly leaps towards a smooth-leaved bush.

What is he doing? Attacking a bush?

There was a loud, surprised shriek, and I identify it as a cat's. _Who the heck is this? Is this an invader?_ I can barely identify who it might possibly be, so I decide to be a little reckless.

I pad slowly towards the shape that Ashenfoot is pinning to the ground, and I scrutinise its fur. A glossy-furred white she-cat with pale red markings struggles against the tom's grip, and her blue-green eyes flashed with shock. I feel my mouth curl into a smile as I process this figure. I _know_ this cat!

"A-Ashenfoot!?" the cat squeaks, shoving Ashenfoot away and standing up. She looks at me, and smiles, her eyes wide. "Oh, and you too, Featherfall! You're alive! We thought you both drowned!"

I dip my head in the warrior's direction respectfully, my blue-grey eyes gleaming with recognition. It was no other than one of ShadowClan's warriors, Lilyfrost. My _Clanmate_. ShadowClan must be alive and healthy, because Lilyfrost's fur gleams.

I exchange looks with Ashenfoot, his amber eyes suddenly filled with hope, and I bounce over to nuzzle Lilyfrost's cheek. I know it might seem rather weird, to express such feelings to a cat I didn't exactly interact with often, but at this point, I don't care anymore.

"Would you like to come back to ShadowClan?" Lilyfrost mews warmly, and Ashenfoot lets out his first real laugh in a few days.

 **finally. I wanted ShadowClan back.**

 **QOTC: Do you think Morningsky will become human ever again? (If you think I'm not evil enough to make her stay as a cat, just you wait..)**

 **Favourite and review! It means a lot to me!**


	21. Chapter 19

hello

i'm not dead, this story isn't abandoned, i'm not leaving

i just put everything on hold for

THE EMOJI MOVIE

I am SO SORRY but I had to. Also, I wrote this yesterday *not to mention I'm sick with influenza, headaches, nausea, and drowsiness* and am losing my sanity, hence why I was awake at 11:50pm typing this note.

Please tell me if you like the new cover for this (I hate it), but I hated how I wrote Feathers Falling instead of Falling Feathers in the other one.

Also, happy 7-months-since-I-first-posted-this-story anniversary?

also The Emoji Movie release date for Australia is September 14th while USA/Canada gets July 28th I'm so upset

 **Key of Light and Darkness: That's a good idea! I'm pondering on that.. thank you!**

 **Lightningfoot: Ahh, thank you! I may be able to insert your OCs later in the story ;w;**

 **Flower: Haha, I do like being cruel, but though I'm not one for happy endings, I don't want to make everyone in the story depressed.. I seriously hate myself for not realising the cover was wrong.**

 **TheRealOwleyes: Ooh, that could be something that could happen! I do have a few different plans for Morningsky.. but hopefully one is unpredictable yet decent enough for her. A lot of people ship AshenxFeather.. I might, too..**

 **Starrysong Summer Hype: That was admittedly one of my plans.. welp, time to scrap it. As I implied before, Morningsky (it's a mouthful to say, so I'm not surprised you prefer Holly as her name) has a lot of potential for many different plot ideas. Need to wait and see!**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: ;) Don't be scared!**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Thank you so much for helping me, and you're welcome for the shout out. I'm still waiting until Featherfall/Shekye realises how to reverse it, too..**

 **Luckyclaw of ThunderClan: I will wait as long as possible to reveal whether or not they'll be mates.. ;)**

I'd just like to thank Blackstorm for putting so much effort into proofreading my writing, fixing grammatical errors, and overall thinking that aiding an insane thirteen-year-old was a "good idea". It means a lot.

 **Chapter 19**

Lilyfrost guides us through plethoras of sturdy eucalyptus trees. The sun shines through the sweet-scented leaves, and only then do I realise my mum has no idea where we are, and if we don't arrive home by sunset, we'll be in massive trouble.

"This is ThunderClan territory" - I stiffen at Ashenfoot's words that are directed at Lilyfrost - "is the Clan staying there?"

The dread inside of my chest worsens as Lilyfrost nods her silky red-and-white marked head. "We left nearly the whole of the Clans' territories behind," she mewed, her tone edged with sadness, "and there were a few Clanmates who got sick from drinking tainted water on the way. We nearly lost Amberflash and Leaftail." She perks up. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you both!" She stifled a laugh. "Amberpaw and Vixenpaw got their warrior names, Amberflash and Vixenheart. Their efforts to help the Clan were incredible, and they deserved their names."

"Great," Ashenfoot says, satisfaction lighting his rich amber eyes. "They're both excellent names. How is Ivystar? Are the queens okay?"

Morningsky flattens her ears as Lilyfrost cheerily replies. I can already tell she dislikes Ashenfoot with the way she huffs whenever he's remotely neutral to every cat but her. "I bet you know what they're talking about," the tortoiseshell mews, and the look she gives me just asks " _explain?_ ".

The tortoiseshell she-cat almost seems jealous of how much attention Ashenfoot gives to Lilyfrost. Should I ignore her, or confront her about it? Remind her that Ashenfoot has a right to be excited? I don't precisely have a clue why Morningsky is willing to just hate Ashenfoot just like that.

"When we were separated from the Clan," I repeat the story, "I took Ashenfoot home and took care of him. When he got better, we started to search for the Clan." Morningsky frowns, and looks ahead at the stretch of leaves above her that became thicker and thicker as we traveled further. I continue. "Oh, our camp got flooded, which is the reason behind evacuating."

"Your camp?" She growls incredulously. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Clan thought of you as an outsider. Besides, you did say you strutted into the camp and were instantly allowed to join." An _outsider?_ Oh, you little...

That sparks a flash of anger in my pale blue eyes, and she easily detects it, her mouth setting straight. "Yeah, an outsider. This Clan cat seems nice, but I doubt anyone would accept a human."

"Shut up!" I suddenly snap. "Get over your little mood, for StarClan's freaking sake! You and Ashenfoot are ruining it for yourselves! You were so nice at home!" Lilyfrost and Ashenfoot stop to look at me inquiringly, but I lash my tail defiantly in their direction when they start to speak.

Morningsky falters when the two Clan cats look at her, and she seems to shift in her fur "I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed," she admits. _Overwhelmed?_ I don't think being overwhelmed is a decent excuse for such bitter words, missus. "Sorry. This guy's stupidly grumpy towards everyone," she glares at Ashenfoot, who gladly returns it, "and you seem way too excited about this."

The bushland around us is suddenly quiet, except for the annoying chirrups of miners and scuffles of tiny rodents. I gulp, and slowly place my tail on Morningsky's shoulder. "We all seem a little... all over the place." I say as she shoulders my feathery cream tabby tail away. "I get you would be getting unnerved at this. It happened to me, too. Just remember I went through the same things as you-" I cut my totally unerring reasoning off when I remember Lilyfrost is with us, and I frantically search for words to save myself. "Suddenly finding yourself on your own in the wild is tricky to get over, but we're here for you."

"You can say that again," Morningsky sighs, understanding what I'm getting at. "Grumpy Ashy over here isn't helping."

"Your irritability is one of your strong points," he growls, and Lilyfrost looks at him in shock, lost for words, "I know that. And, would you look at that!" He points towards an overgrown clump of leaves in the far distance. "We would have gotten to camp quicker if it weren't for your complaining!"

The other two she-cats and I look at Ashenfoot disapprovingly, and I drag a steadily-fuming Morningsky along beside me as I start to walk again. "Let's all just be quiet on the way there, yeah?" I ask, an awkward grin on my face. "Come on, Lilyfrost. I'll prevent them from arguing. Ashenfoot, you too."

Ashenfoot hisses, but begrudgingly begins to follow us from a distance.

 **MORNINGSKY'S POV**

I swear! The nerve of that guy! Either he just _won't_ shut up about his Clan or he bitches nonstop about anything (or everything) he can get his dark little paws on!

Shekye seems to hate me and Ashenfoot bickering... a lot. Awkwardness and will to keep the waters calm are just a fraction of her specialties, among being a know-it-all Pokémon fanatic ("ooh, Dragalge is a gen six dragon and poison dual type with a predominantly high special-defence stat and its hidden ability is Adaptability blahblahblah") and displaying a usually bright demeanour. Everyone at school thinks I'm the opposite of loud.

Why must everything be so confusing? First of all, I'm droning on and on, and second, I am a cat and I can't change back to a mentally prepared human.

"Just need to check, Morningsky is a friend of yours whom was abandoned as a kittypet, right?" I believe a kittypet is a Clan cat's classification of a cat raised by humans. Excuse me, miss Lily-whoever-you-are, but I am definitely not a kittypet. Oh, that's right, Clan cats hate kittypets... screw that.

Shekye is silent for a second. "Uh, yeah," she confirms. "Kittypet. A bit grouchy over how she was left behind by her twolegs, but she's nice when you get to know her, I guess." I absently flick an ear, surprising myself with the catlike action. Shekye definitely knows I can hear what she is saying, but still has the _nerve_ to say I have issues warming up to people?! I instead focus on the rustling of the eucalyptus trees that stretch above me. They're pretty in the sunlight.

Ashenfoot, Shekye's comrade, stifles a laugh loud enough to echo through the bushland. I roll my eyes, knowing well enough he cannot see the reactions on my face, and flick my tail. Moving your tail is actually easier than you'd think, but it feels way too unfamiliar and strange. How can Shekye deal with this?

"We're free to hunt here," Lily-whatsit mews, her blue-green gaze flicking around the pale yellow-green trees and shrubbery. "ThunderClan was very generous to us."

Food... I acknowledge my growling stomach. I am rather hungry... Shekye's mum was about to give us lunch before all of this happened. The one thing I'm worried about is eating... urgh... prey. As I recall saying before, I'm unwilling to eat such disgusting creatures, especially when they're _raw_.

Ashenfoot nods, and scans the area around him with slitted amber eyes. Shekye does the same, but she... crouches? Tail flicking around slowly, lifted only just above the ground, she disappears into the scarce undergrowth. I suddenly feel myself pale when she is gone.

"We can eat when we get back!" The red-and-white cat calls to Shekye's slowly fading cream-striped figure. I stare on, silent for a few seconds, before looking hesitantly in the Clan cat's direction.

"Well- I... uh, I don't know how to h-hunt..."

The other she-cat frowns, her eyes narrowed. A wave of panic passes through me at the flash of anger passing through her eyes, but she continues with a smile. "That's fine. Featherfall and Ashenfoot know how to hunt, and the prey is rich. We can teach you later."

I suppress a gag. "T-thank you." How can these cats be okay with killing tiny rodents? I'd prefer living on wild berries, maybe even get by with chewing on certain herbs I could possibly find, such as wild mint... just like Katniss and Gale would eat as a treat in The Hunger Games. Now that I think about it, to be honest, I'm not surprised Shekye starves herself...

As I shift my speckled paws, the time going by sluggishly, a strange, woody scent drifts around me. I open my mouth, absent-minded and truly bored, and the scent of Ashenfoot's fresh mouse fills my mouth, choking me. I look away, struggling to restrain my coughs, from the furry brown creature's dead, beady eyes, and stare into the trees.

"Don't tell me you're squeamish, too." Ashenfoot mumbles, dropping the mouse on the leaf-littered ground with a thud and a groan. "I don't need another Featherfall incident."

I lift my chin high, my head turned away from the tom. "Hmph, sorry, but I am not one to eat such vulgar things," I say primly, "I'd take rotting berries any day."

His amber gaze scorches my back, before a rustling sound distracts me before I turn to return the deadpan. As I turn to look, Shekye emerges with a effort-driven grunt, from the light-coloured brush, as she flings a crow and noisy miner in front of the ShadowClan she-cat. Her unique watery-grey eyes sparkle with triumph, yet disgust. I shudder again as I survey the crow's mangy-looking feathers.

"Seems as if my hunting skills never left me," Shekye laughs, her tabby chest puffed out, surprising me again at how calm she acts. She cuts the cheerful laugh off as she realises I haven't left the area to hunt. "I should have brought you with me." She mumbles. "If we can't change you back, I might as well have taught you to hunt..." I don't reply.

Lily-whatsit nods her head. "Well done," she meows warmly. "The Clan will be overjoyed." I've noticed how kind she is to Shekye, despite her origin being different compared to the Clan cats', and I'm slowly feeling shameful of my cutting words I said to her before. She is my best friend, after all.

I suddenly think of Uriah. The final part of our trio. Will he see me again as a person?

The other three start to leave again, walking on an invisible path through the eucalyptus trees. I jolt up, dimly noticing the mouse that was slumped in front of me. Did they want me to pick it up? Dread rises in my throat.

Ashenfoot stops and turns to look at me. "Don't just stand there," he growls, the miner bird in his mouth. "Pick it up and come with us, otherwise you'll end up being lost."

If I were still a human, I'd have broken into a sweat. Picking dead animals up with your teeth? I can't help but shudder at the thought. The wide, frozen eyes stare into my soul, and my ears flatten on instinct. No, no, no, don't make me lift that thing up! Please! Anything but that! Anything to go home!

The only tom in the group nudges Shekye, and she freezes. Staring at me sympathetically, the crow held firmly in her jaws, she strides over to me. Dropping it at the base of a soft-barked tree, some charcoal-coloured splinters covering her muzzle, she whispers in my ear, "Just pick it up. I know it's hard. Cat teeth aren't as sensitive, and it's dead, anyways."

"Easy for you to say," I reply quietly, eyes locked with the mouse's, "I'm not picking it up."

Ashenfoot takes a deep breath and walks away from the white-and-red she-cat towards me. That she-cat has insane patience, I need to point out. Interruptions of an important trip caused by a human-turned-cat's complaining will annoy even the most patient person. Or cat.

The tom bends over and lifts the mouse from the ground, the miner also in his jaws. "Get on with it," he says, his voice barely understandable behind all of the feathers and fur, "we haven't got all day, remember?"

"Right," I let out a thankful sigh. No way would I pick up a dead mouse with my mouth, no-thank-you. As I get up on shaky paws, the group gets going again, and I bound over to join Shekye.

"All that over a stupid mouse?" She mews, disappointment edging her tone, and my fur seems to burn. "Come on, Morningsky. You can do better than that. And, please, you get into arguments way too easily." I nearly forget I chose a "new name" for myself as a cat. I refuse to call myself that, anyway. In my eyes, I am still Holly and will always be Holly.

I run my eyes over Shekye's fluffy cream tabby pelt, which is dirty and unkempt. "Sorry," I sigh, my tail absently flicking. "I'm far too squeamish for my own good... I won't be able to catch food like this."

"Who cares if you can't hunt now?" Shekye continues, looking out at the forest in front of us. "You can learn later. When we change you back, we can go back to being normal humans, okay? No more cat business between us." I envy the way she and the other cats walk, carefree and sure-pawed. I stumble and trip over everything. I nod my head at her hope-tinged mew.

"Okay."

Shekye halts, as the other two Clan cats do the same. I look at the wall of thorn-decorated thickets, wonder stirring up inside of me. As I prick my ears, mews and purrs of cats meet them, and I stiffen. This can't be it, surely? This _cannot_ be a camp. The scents of many cats overwhelm my nose and mouth.

"Well, I think this is it. Are you ready to see a Clan?" Shekye mews, excitement and anticipation flashing in her eyes. I can see in in the way she moves she has been waiting for this moment for days, maybe even weeks, and I also envy her for having such feelings. Ashenfoot's tail flicks back and forth, hope plastered on his face, and I can tell he is also excited.

Taking in a deep breath, I walk through the small hole made in the thorny wall, and what I see takes me by surprise.

 **Hey, look at the progress they made in this chapter! Isn't it insane how far they came? Well, hopefully I can tone it down later! /s**

 **Finally we can actually advance. Everything is so sluggish at this point and I'm desperate to speed this story up.**

 **As Blackstorm had expressed in the notes he wrote for me, I'm definitely going too far with Morningsky's squeamishness and "brattiness". I really want to fix that later on in the story. (Plot twist: Morningsky is the kind of person who gets REAL salty when things don't go her way. Or maybe it isn't a twist because it's true.)**

 **Has anyone else noticed the spike in the amount of words I use paragraph? Heck yeah! Writing that Pokémon prologue I uploaded a while ago managed to change me.**

 **Abandoning my writing until the Emoji Movie came out was totally *not* worth it (I'm so sorry)**

 **QOTC: I have nothing for this question, so what do you think of AshenXMorning?**

 **QOTC2 (optional): Are you going to watch The Emoji Movie? Or have you watched it already?**

 **Favourite and review? It means so much to me (3**


	22. Chapter 20

Has it really been five months since I've uploaded a chapter?

I know I say this every chapter, but I'm sorry... writer's block absolutely hates me. The motivation to write was there, but I couldn't write for the hell of it. I would say this won't happen again, but I'm not entirely sure at this point. Please expect incredibly sluggish uploads. I should also say that playing Super Mario Odyssey, Snipperclips, and Pokémon Ultra Moon has been taking up a lot of my time... but that's my fault.

Not to mention, from the 9th of January to the 21st I'll be camping yet again.

If I don't upload within 2 weeks, I will usually post an update on my profile. I also write my other story's, River's Shadow's, chapters a lot quicker and can also give updates in the author notes.

 **SilverMidnightMoon: Thank you! Yeah, I agree that Morningsky should suck it up too.**

 **Snowcrystal of Thunderclan: I much prefer Ashenfall. But a tiny voice at the back of my mind suggested Ashensky so I decided to put it as a QOTC.**

 **Blackstorm of Thunderclan: Thank you so much for your support. I know that suggesting Ashensky was ridiculous and sudden. but as I said before it was just a small, stupid voice that put the thought into my mind. Ashensky sort of reminds me of Sandstorm and Fireheart when they were apprentices..**

 **Key of Ice and Snow: Thank you :D**

 **Luckyclaw of ThunderClan: Ashenfall is too spicy compared to Ashensky? ;) but yeah, I prefer Ashenfall. I don't think Ashenfoot would choose between the two — if Ashenfall is going to be a ship for real, I want it to happen without one simply confessing and the other accepting.**

 **TheRealOwleyes: I like your answer! I hope you enjoyed the movie.**

 **Amberpetal: I'm glad I inspired you! Morningsky IS a brat.. I'm trying to fix it up now! If people prefer Falling Feathers over River's Shadow, it's perfectly fine!**

 **A Sky of Blazing Stars: Thank you so, so much! It means a lot.**

 _All my thanks goes to Blackstorm of Thunderclan for proofreading my chapters._

 **Chapter 20**

 **MORNINGSKY'S POV**

Scents of cats met my nose as I poked my head into the entrance. The shapes I could see inside the camp were of different colours, like ginger, brown, striped grey… it was mesmerising. My paws told me to keep going forwards, and I obeyed, inching closer and closer… rough, sweet-scented leaves brushing the tips of my ears.

"Wait here."

I whip my head around to stare at Shekye in surprise, stopping in my tracks. "What?"

Ashenfoot looks at the ThunderClan camp's entrance. "You can't actually think that they would trust you to walk around in their Clan?" he growls. "Featherfall was lucky to be accepted so easily."

My mouth opens wide in outrage. "We came this far, and _you're not letting me in?_ "

"No," Shekye says firmly. "Who knows what kind of trouble you'd get into? Not saying you would provoke any issues," she hurries to correct herself as I glare at her, "but you should know that the Clans could possibly be very tense right now. Ashenfoot and I don't know if we caused an uproar because of our disappearance, or if anyone died," she hesitates. "I don't think a stranger would make anything better."

Lilyfrost nods. "She speaks the truth," she mews, cerulean eyes glowing with understanding. I keep staring at my paws. "While there weren't any deaths from ShadowClan, everyone was unnerved after seeing you return after jumping into the river."

"Exactly," Shekye murmurs, blue eyes full of pity as Lilyfrost confirms her suspicions. "I'm sorry, Morningsky, but you need to stay outside until we can talk to our leader — or leaders."

Glaring at her dirtied, ruffled pelt once more, I slowly start to see the logic behind her words. "…alright," I mutter. "I'm not sure what I should do out here, but…"

Ashenfoot snorts. "Try and hunt some prey. ShadowClan agrees on things more positively with full bellies." _That statement is questionable,_ I think with a snort. _And I have an issue with that first suggestion of yours…_

"She's squeamish," Shekye mews to him. I lower my head in embarrassment. She catches this, her blue eyes softening. "…it's not that tough after you catch a piece of two. Come on, you need to try. I know how it feels, but it's worth getting over."

I take in a deep breath. Hunting. This is going to be a long day. If Shekye thinks that it's not tough afterwards… I should really give it a chance. "Okay…"

Shekye blinks, giving a small, triumphant smile. "That's the Holly — or Morningsky — I remember." _Or don't,_ I think. _I've been terrible lately._

Ashenfoot nods. "Should we go in?"

"Yes," Lilyfrost replies, excitement in her eyes. "Hopefully they let you come back in. We were all so worried."

I look on as three shapes slink into the entrance, leaving me staring at it, alone.

…

What to do now…

Pfft. _"Wait here."_ As if. I don't want to listen to the commotion that commenced when those three went in. It made me feel worse — and I don't understand why.

 _Should I try hunting?_ Now that I think it over, it doesn't seem _too_ bad. I can't change back to a normal person soon enough, and, to be fair, walking around like this is leaving me hungry. I sympathise with Shekye, if she isn't willing to eat prey.

The noises within the camp settle down to chattering I can't pick up. I can hear faint mews from Shekye and Ashenfoot, but the others I do not recognise.

"Foolish," I mutter to myself. "These cats will realise you were here if you hang out here long enough."

I turn and bound the way our group of four came from.

This forest was ravaged by bushfires a good few years ago. A group of simple-minded teens decided it would be a good idea to set up camp near the river Shekye was talking about; they ended up not taking basic safety precautions and a few embers caught a bush — it would have been easy to extinguish — which caught the drooping branches of a paperbark tree. Soon, almost the entire bushland had been affected, be it be burnt to the ground or damaged by the smoke. It's why it's now illegal to enter this place — to allow revegetation and to avoid any more accidents. It doesn't stop a few daring kids from trespassing, but it isn't really worth the fine.

I can see why Shekye likes this place. It's beautiful from lack of people inhabiting it. Though, I doubt I will be here for long, I try not to get too mesmerised by the sunlight dancing on the ground.

I continue staring up at the thin canopy, wandering around until I end up panting from the heat. Summer recently came by, and it wasn't helping with my quote-on-quote " _that's a "Hol" lotta salt_ " state…

Thankfully, I'd rather be hot than freezing. Though, both are relatively as unpleasant. I'm also grateful there's enough shade to keep the heat from becoming overly bothersome.

As I keep walking, I notice with faint wonder that I'm not stumbling as much as I was before we had reached the camp (that I wasn't allowed to enter). _Huh,_ I muse, _if I get too used to walking like this, and when I get changed back, the results wouldn't be too pleasant, would they?_ But I ignore the nagging feeling in my chest that I may never be able to return to a warm, safe home…

After a few moments, however long it was, I stop to catch my breath.

Honestly, I would have said I lost track of time since I've been walking around in this forest for so long, but that already happened when all of this cat business started. The sun has been the only thing I've been using to track the time — it was less than halfway in the sky when we entered the forest. Which means it would have been roughly twelve when we left… if the sun is over there, now, it should be around one… oh, what am I thinking, we're never going to get home…

Shekye, Ashenfoot, and that white-and-red she-cat haven't made an appearance. I thought back to where I came before stiffening; which direction was I walking in?

 _Oh god I cannot possibly be lost._

I turn around, eyes flicking from tree to tree frantically. "Ah, sh-" I cut off my instinctual hiss, which was a colourful chain of curses. _Everything looks the same in this damned place!_ All I know at the moment is that if I turned straight around and walked for a while, I'd be back on my trail.

Alas, thanks to my shameful childlike curiosity, I had also taken a few turns. And hell would I know which direction I came from.

"…Shekye?" I call, walking in a straight line uncertainly as I gaze around. Leaves crackle beneath my speckled red-and-black paws, the satisfying crunch echoing through the forest.

As I keep bounding ahead, some new scents wreathe around me. A few strangely muddy, some laced with… peat and wet grass?

 _Hmm,_ I think. _Either it was the storm's doing, or it's…_

 _The other Clans?_

If so, I'm interested. From what I remember, RiverClan was my favourite out of the four. They're not afraid to swim, and they get to eat fish all day while the other three are at each other's throats for mice… I'm surprised I remember some details of Warriors despite not reading the series in ages. _WindClan seems to be ground into the dirt by the others…_

Come to think of it… would Ashenfoot believe us if we told him that all lore of the Clans were merely words printed in a book? Would he push our words away, or take in every word with a hint of bitterness that we happen to know more about the Clans then him? Well, I can't recall much, but Shekye probably knows a lot about the series.

I shake my head. _You idiot!_ I think, flicking my tail back and forth. _You're thinking up scenarios that might not even happen!_

The trees above me start to thin out, though they shower dew and leaves at every breath of wind. Ugh, I stop to flick some shattered remains of leaf litter off my damp paws. The sun can't burn the dew off here.

 _Did I hit a fork in the road…?_ As I stop in my place, I realise that the peaty scent was coming from the left, and the muddy scent from the right. WindClan, or RiverClan? I hover over the choices for a second.

And I turn to the right.

I catch glimpses of flat field beyond the trees. _WindClan lived on a moor, didn't they?_

"I hate puddles… why are there so many here, anyway? The storm ended ages ago…"

I stiffen. _Shekye?_ My head whips around to focus on the voice. That's not a voice I recognise. A younger she-cat, by the sounds of it.

"Worried that your fur's going to get all muddy?" Comes a bored-sounding reply. Fear creeps up my spine and I back up a few steps. _Two_ cats? I shouldn't have walked away from the camp… "Get over it, Kestrelpaw."

 _Kestrelpaw?_ My ears flatten and my eyes widen. Just as I thought… the cats I can hear are Clan cats. Are they from WindClan, or RiverClan?

I catch a hint of black fur at the edge of my vision, and my dread worsens.

"Lighten up," Another voice joins the other two. A second tom, it seems. "We're only here to catch prey. ShadowClan decided to disappear on us, we haven't heard from ThunderClan or RiverClan, and if Thistlestar told us to go hunting, there's nothing really bad about it…"

 _Stupid paws,_ I think, trying vainly to move them in the opposite direction of the cats. I can hear the crunch of leaves getting louder and louder, as well as a few mutters speaking of "strange scents"…

All hopes diminish as I meet the eyes of a young black tom with rippling scars and disdainful blue eyes.

His mouth opens slightly as he catches sight of me. "What are you doing on Clan territory?"

Surprise! His comrades come in record time. A delicate, dark brown she-cat with white markings widens her amber eyes in surprise, and another black tom, though with a bushy tail and yellow eyes, lets out a hiss.

"Hi." Those are the only words I could utter. "Uh, my name's-"

"We don't care what your name is," the first black tom growls. "Stealing prey?"

 _Not the time to gag!_ I think frantically, green eyes darting between the three young cats. "No! Of course not!"

I couldn't possibly forget that these cats can very well kill me on the spot.

The black tom with blue eyes stalks forwards. Thick scars lace his fur, and I can't help but think how painful it must have been to have earned those. "We don't tolerate loners," he snarls, the venom in his voice plainly showing his disdain for me.

"You really like taking your time with punishments."

I can't believe I just said that.

The scarred tom's blue eyes flash with rage, and I catch the glint of unsheathed claws in the dappled sunlight.

To my annoyance, the dark brown she-cat steps forwards to stand beside the scarred tom, but gives me the chance to step backwards. Then, the other black tom with yellow eyes joins them, anticipation gleaming in all of their eyes…

"I mean no harm!" I say in a quick shake of the head.

"You must be daft," the yellow-eyed tom said, head slightly tipped to the side. "Do you really expect to go on your way without earning a punishment for trespassing?"

I back up even further, praying that there wasn't a tree to bump into. "I-if you're going to kill me, make it fast," I say, much to my utter horror.

Pain blossoms on my muzzle, and something bright red drips onto the ground. I bite back a cry, seeing that the scarred tom's claws were dipped in scarlet, and stumble. "Ow," I mutter, screwing my eyes shut. "That was only a scratch, but that hurt."

As I bring a paw to the injury that the tom inflicted on me, I was roughly shoved to the ground. _I should have expected that…_

Whipping my head up after a few seconds of pure terror, I force myself up only to see the three cats laughing.

So I leapt at the closest cat to me, who just so happened to be she-cat. She steps to the side to evade my lunge, but I manage to catch her legs and bring to the ground, shock lighting in her amber eyes as she collapses.

"Kestrelpaw!" The yellow-eyed black tom steps forwards and, using his head, knocks me away from the other she-cat. He was lithe and long-legged, yellow eyes blazing with sudden anger. He advances on me, and I suddenly feel like attacking possibly well-trained cats was probably one of the worst ideas I've had.

The scarred tom slashes at my face, and I instinctively shy away, stepping back and considering running for it. But it only led to me earning a few more stinging cuts to my cheek, and I feel more claws score some wounds on my back. The dark brown she-cat, the one the yellow-eyed cat called Kestrelpaw, gave me a slightly saddened look as I turned to glare back at her, despite the fact another cat was trying to shred my face.

I dodge a hit from the yellow-eyed tom and lash my own paw at the scarred cat — but he also avoids that, and plants his paws on my neck to prick the skin. I manage to shoulder the paws off, and I scramble away from the three, but Kestrelpaw appears in front of me and I press against a tree, frantically trying to identify a way to escape.

"Oh, god," I sigh, feeling defeated already. "I don't know how cats can fight for this long, and I was already tired to begin with… For your information, ShadowClan is still around-"

The scarred tom rakes his claws across my ear, and I wince away, the words in my throat dying off. My scratches give me a painful, bitter reminder that I had lost from the start and only pure idiocy got me here in the first place.

 _Why am I not fighting back?_ My mind shrieks at me to do something, to run or keep fighting back, but it was overcome by panic as all three cats share a look and advance onto me.

…

 **FEATHERFALL'S POV**

Our return to ShadowClan went pretty smoothly. It was, admittedly, relieving to see no cats had died, though apparently a few got ill. Ivystar and her cats were completely taken aback by our reappearance; Driftpool was downright crying of happiness, much to my surprise, and Fjordrunner (is he still my mentor…? I still need to ask.) actually gave me a nod when I caught his cold blue eye. ThunderClan, however, was less interested… nonetheless, they let us stay.

…well, I still haven't told Ivystar and ThunderClan's aptly-named leader, Thimblestar, about a certain tortoiseshell… but that can wait until Morningsky is more than ready. Which'll surely take a while.

"Excellent," I say, peering at ThunderClan's camp entrance for a few seconds. An uneaten thrush lay at my paws, a few scraps of a poor rabbit at Ashenfoot's. "Nice to have an… er, Clan reunion?"

"You could say that," Ashenfoot replied, elation glowing in his eyes. "I… missed them." Then he focuses his gaze onto the thrush, hungrily. "You aren't hungry…?"

"Nah," I reply too quickly, "I have no appetite at the moment."

Ashenfoot mumbles something then tentatively reaches out with a dark paw to snag the bird. "You never seem to eat." He plucks some feathers with his claws. "Even ThunderClan's kits have eaten more than you since we arrived, and they're still on milk."

"You have no idea," I say, my stomach suddenly feeling hollow.

"I haven't seen you eat, either," comes a new voice. Driftpool. As I roll my eyes, the grey-and-black she-cat settles beside Ashenfoot, a euphoric look plastered on her face. "If you were breaking the code while you were here before the storm by eating outside of camp… StarClan forbid."

I snort. "It's kind of hard to explain…"

"Tch." Ashenfoot nudges Driftpool with a shoulder. "I watch her when she leaves camp. She's perfectly fine."

"Thanks for that," I growl half-heartedly. "You just admitted you _stalk_ me when I'm alone. I'm not an idiot. Of course I don't eat the stuff I hunt." I find it strange that she decided to throw that accusation in my face right at that moment.

Driftpool snorts. "Whatever," she mutters. "You're a weird cat."

 _Oh, lemme tell you…_ I unsheathe a claw and poke at the ground absently. "You should have seen how we were doing when we were… lost. Ashenfoot hated it."

The grey she-cat flicks her black-tipped tail. "…you ended up outside of the forest?"

Ashenfoot gives me a glare, tiny feathers speckled on his dark brown paws. "We spent some time in Twolegplace," he mutters, amber eyes lowered. "It wasn't pleasant." He stared towards the entrance.

"Twolegplace," Driftpool spits. "Did you spot any tame kittypets to claw?"

"Anything would have been more fun than staying in Twolegplace," Ashenfoot replies, staring pointedly at me.

 _Are we really going to go there?_ I gladly return the look back to him, before I quickly remembered that we had to bring Morningsky in if we wanted to give her a chance. "…We left some prey outside, Ashenfoot,"

His eyes flash with confusion, but to my relief, he quickly catches on as I slightly flick my tail towards the entrance. "Ah." He takes a few more bites from the thrush before standing.

Driftpool's blue eyes flick between us. "You'd better come back with at least two pieces of prey," she mutters. "Don't forget you two are also giving ThunderClan an extra two mouths to feed. We have enough as it is."

With that, she pushes herself up, shakes her fur, and stalks away.

I exchange looks with Ashenfoot. He shakes his head in reply, but makes his way towards the entrance. "Morningsky will be incredibly lucky if she is accepted," he warns to me.

"I know," I sigh. "I don't even know if it'll be worth seeing if she can join. Once we figure out how to change her back, there won't be any point in her coming, will there?"

He turns his head to stare at me. "Please don't say that we brought that annoying furball for nothing," he growls.

"Maybe if you understood that she's not usually that bad?"

"If we brought a cat who did nothing but growl irritably at everything, and it ended up being all for nothing, wouldn't you be bothered by it?" Ashenfoot stops at the entrance.

"It's kind of funny considering _you're_ the one saying that…"

Ashenfoot snorts. "We're leaving."

As I lower my head to exit the camp, Ashenfoot looks out into the open bushland, disbelief flowing into his eyes. "Uh, Featherfall, do you know who else we're missing…?"

I raise an eyebrow. "What, did you want to see Darkkit, too?" I look at the ThunderClan nursery, which was decorated with pale red eucalyptus leaves and iridescent feathers.

The ashen-brown tom shakes his head, amber eyes filled with disdain. "No… I know you're obsessed with that kit, but it's not her."

I didn't know what to say, so I turned my head to look outside. Nothing but the rustling silver bark of the trees caught my eye, so I give Ashenfoot a questioning look.

Then I do a double-take, my pale eyes scanning the area, searching in vain for a distinct furry shape. "Morningsky." I say, not even needing to ask if she was the answer.

"Morningsky." Ashenfoot confirms with a growl edging his mew.

Morningsky, where the hell are you, and why didn't you listen to me?

She might as well be _murdered_ by someone if she's caught walking around aimlessly.

"We're going to find her," I say to Ashenfoot. He nods, albeit begrudgingly, and there's no time to reconsider before I'm out of the camp and into the forest.

 **"lmao what if Morningsky is killed off for good"**

 **I would have made the lame battle scene more interesting, I could only write past bedtime. It was nearly 11pm and I want to sleep.**

 **QOTC: If Morningsky was to join a Clan, what Clan do you think she'd fit in best?**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!**

 **~ Dawn**


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